Inp.polri.go.id - Banjarbaru. In a quiet corner of Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan, the hum of machinery blends with the scent of freshly cooked rice and vegetables. 

Inside the South Kalimantan Regional Police’s Nutrition Service Unit (SPPG) kitchen, workers move in rhythm, their hands guiding stainless steel trays onto a conveyor belt. Seconds later, the trays emerge spotless, dried by blasts of 87°C air.

This is not an ordinary kitchen. It’s a police-run food facility producing more than 3,000 nutritious meals each day for schoolchildren as part of Indonesia’s Makan Bergizi Gratis (Free Nutritious Meal) program. 

“The machine changed everything,” said Senior Superintendent Noviar, the Head of the South Kalimantan Police’s Monitoring and Evaluation of the MBG Tak Force and also the South Kalimantan Police Head of Supervision, smiling as he watched the line move smoothly. “What took 14 people 11 hours can now be done in one.”

The kitchen operates around the clock. Fresh vegetables arrive before dawn, meat is checked for quality, and a team of nutritionists ensures every portion meets the national standards for children’s health. Before meals leave for schools, they are inspected by South Kalimantan Police medical center’s doctors. Food safety here is treated like public security.

Beyond the kitchen, the initiative reflects a deeper mission. Under President Prabowo Subianto’s direction, the MBG program aims to reduce stunting and nurture a healthier generation by 2045. South 

Kalimantan Police Chief Inspector General Rosyanto Yudha Hermawan, who oversees the project, insists that “no child should go hungry, and no meal should be unsafe.”

Even the wastewater is purified before leaving the facility, filtered through an in-house treatment system, a rare feature in public kitchens. For teachers and students in Banjarbaru, the result is clear: full stomachs, bright eyes, and growing trust.

At SDN 1 Kemuning Elementary school, children eat eagerly as teachers test the food first, a gesture of care and confidence. 

“We never worry,” said headmistress Nurmayati. “The meals are always clean, healthy, and something the kids look forward to.”

In this kitchen powered by discipline, technology, and compassion, Indonesia’s police show that public service can start with something as simple, and as powerful, as a warm meal.

(mg/inp/pr/rs)