<![CDATA[The Free Nutritious Meal Program (MBG) is a public policy intervention that connects the agendas of nutritional improvement, human capital development, food security, and local economic empowerment. This study analyzes the governance challenges of MBG through three interconnected perspectives: economic efficiency, distributive justice, and maqashid al-shariah. The study employs a qualitative approach with a case study design, utilizing semi-structured interviews, observations, and document analysis as data sources. The data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis through deductive coding based on the three main perspectives and inductive coding of emerging operational issues. The analysis identifies six central issues: tensions between program expansion and local governance capacity; efficiency that cannot be equated with cost reduction; disparities in distribution quality; food safety as a governance issue; tensions between national standardization and local needs; and a shift in orientation from food distribution toward the achievement of public benefit. Recent literature indicates that school feeding programs can improve food consumption, food security, and several health outcomes, but their success is strongly influenced by policy design, implementation capacity, supply chains, food safety, and monitoring mechanisms. From the perspective of maqashid al-shariah, efficiency is positioned as an instrument for resource management, justice as a principle of distribution, while hifz al-nafs, hifz al-'aql, and hifz al-nasl serve as normative orientations. This study proposes an MBG governance model that integrates efficiency, justice, food safety, transparency, public participation, and public benefit as policy performance indicators.]]>
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