Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) has formally implemented a Healthy Canteen initiative in collaboration with the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), under the concept of a “SWU Healthy Canteen”. The initiative was launched as a model “health-promoting canteen” to create a supportive environment for healthy eating among students, staff, and surrounding communities.
The Healthy Canteen policy focuses on:
Encouraging food vendors to provide healthier menu options, with reduced sugar, salt, and fat, in alignment with national nutrition and NCD-prevention guidelines.
Using the canteen as a learning space for health and nutrition, where students and staff are encouraged to reflect on their eating behaviours and make healthier choices (“you are what you eat”).
Promoting clean, hygienic canteen environments and improved food safety standards, as part of SWU’s commitment to being a Healthy University and a Green University.
The initiative also includes communication and promotional campaigns such as Good health cannot be bought; you have to choose what you eat, alongside activities that provide healthy-meal coupons to encourage students and staff to try healthier options and establish better eating habits.
Together, these measures demonstrate that SWU not only has a formal Healthy Canteen policy but also actively implements it through vendor engagement, environmental changes, and ongoing health-promotion campaigns—fulfilling the intent of HP 5.2 Implementation of Healthy Canteen Initiatives.
