A photo of a girl voting for her school lunch went viral yesterday as netizens praised the people behind a survey campaign that aims to create quality lunch for students.

 

Dubbed Lunch & Learn, the campaign was recently launched by the Creative Economic Agency as part of the annual Isan Creative Festival. In the program’s initial phase, the agency is partnering with chefs and nutritionists to create menus for five schools in Thailand’s northeastern region, involving around 2,000 participating students.

 

Given a pink round sticker to vote on the white board, students at Ban Non Chai School picked the lunch that they wanted to try—from a plate of Hainanese chicken rice with soup and watermelon to butterfly pea rice with green curry, apples, and local fruit. 

 

But the dish the students overwhelmingly opted for most was KFC, shortened for Kwantip’s Fried Chicken. It consists of deep-fried chicken, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and guava and was designed by celebrity chef Kwantip Devakula, who will cook it for students today. 

 

The dishes are created using local ingredients and within a budget of not more than B21, according to the agency.

 

The project received mostly positive feedback from netizens.

 

“Very nice project. I want to go back in time and study at a participating school like this,” wrote Kru-one Ubon Wanwalai Athivaspong on Facebook. “Other school executives and teachers should see this example and follow suit.”

 

Sanya Makarin, a teacher involved in the campaign, said he wants to highlight the importance of school lunch as a way to make students feel more excited to come to school.

 

“If we got the budget and designed quality lunches for them, the students would want to come to school. And when their stomach is full, they would be focused in class, and this leads to learning happily,” Sanya told The People in an interview. 

 

The Creative Economic Agency will be sharing recipes, along with footage and “moving exhibitions,” Jul 9-Aug 19 as a part of the Isan Creative Festival.