2.3.1

2.3.1 Student food insecurity and hunger

In 2025, Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) has a programme in place on student food insecurity. Food insecurity means living without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. As living costs rise, students, and above all those from low-income families, face growing pressure on their daily food budget. To tackle student hunger at its source, SWU launched the 30-Baht Meal Programme on 1 October 2025, a university-wide policy under which every food outlet in every campus canteen offers at least one full meal for THB 30. The programme is a continuous, targeted and coordinated approach: it runs every day on both main campuses, it targets the daily food costs of students, and it is coordinated by the university administration together with all canteen vendors.

The 30-Baht Meal Programme: a university policy against student food insecurity

The programme comes from a policy of the President of SWU, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cholvit Jearajit, who wanted every student to be able to afford a filling, clean, safe and nutritious meal on campus every day. From 1 October 2025, all shops in all canteens at the Prasarnmit Campus in Bangkok and the Ongkharak Campus in Nakhon Nayok began to offer menus priced at THB 30, such as rice with stewed pork and egg, rice with stir-fried mixed vegetables, stir-fried noodles with soy sauce (vegetarian) and noodle soup. Each shop chooses its own 30-baht dish, so students have a wide range of meals to choose from at the same low price.

The programme was created to ease the cost of living for SWU students. Food is the expense that students face every day, and for students from low-income households or those facing financial difficulties, the price of a meal can decide whether they eat regularly or skip meals. By guaranteeing a complete meal at a fixed price of THB 30, the programme makes sure that these students can keep a regular, balanced diet and can spend more of their limited money on study and living costs.

From this starting point, SWU chose to open the 30-baht menus to the whole campus community, including staff and members of the public. This universal design is a strength of the programme: because the menu is available to everyone at every shop, students who are struggling financially can use it every day without applying for help or identifying themselves as being in need. Support reaches the students who need it most, while no one is singled out. The university describes the programme as a welfare measure for students and staff.

Figure 1: SWU announcement of the 30-Baht Meal Programme, starting on 1 October 2025 in every canteen and every shop at SWU

Figure 2: Examples of 30-baht meals at the Green Nutrition Canteen, SWU, including a vegetable dish and a vegetarian option

Source: https://www.facebook.com/prswu/posts/pfbid02puWkS7NfGKzLJN4qyyaS5xtdtDE98uauwcMi4PWVFyPMZmZKTjNEr8zzTLuEU4gXl

Preventing student hunger during examination periods: free food at the Central Library

Alongside the 30-Baht Meal Programme, SWU runs a second, recurring measure to prevent student hunger. In every examination period, the SWU Central Library opens 24 hours a day and gives free snacks and drinks to students who study late into the night, so that no student has to study on an empty stomach. In 2025, the library provided this service from 22 September to 2 October 2025 during the midterm examinations of the first semester of the 2025 academic year, and again from 10 November to 4 December 2025 during the final examinations. On 30 September 2025, the Director and Deputy Directors of the Central Library handed out food and drinks to students in person, with support from the SWU Alumni Association and a private company, and on 3 December 2025 the library team served iced cocoa and snacks to students preparing for their final examinations.

Examination weeks are the time when students are most at risk of hunger. They stay on campus for the longest hours, often late into the night when canteens are closed, and many have little time or money left for proper meals. Free food at the library reaches students exactly when and where they need it. Because it is open to every student, those who cannot afford to buy food late at night can eat without having to ask for help. Together with the 30-Baht Meal Programme, this service shows how SWU units work together, in a continuous and coordinated way, to address student food insecurity and make sure that students do not go hungry on campus.

Students receiving free snacks and drinks at the SWU Central Library during the 2025 examination period (left), and boxes of snacks prepared for students (right)

Figure 3: Students receiving free snacks and drinks at the SWU Central Library during the 2025 examination period (left), and boxes of snacks prepared for students (right)

Students with free drinks and snacks from the Central Library during the examination period

Figure 4: Students with free drinks and snacks from the Central Library during the examination period

Central Library executives and staff handing out fruit, snacks and drinks to students

Figure 5: Central Library executives and staff handing out fruit, snacks and drinks to students

Students with free food from the Central Library, supported by partners of the library

Figure 6: Students with free food from the Central Library, supported by partners of the library

Central Library executives, staff and partners at the food distribution point (left), and cakes and snacks prepared for students (right)

Figure 7: Central Library executives, staff and partners at the food distribution point (left), and cakes and snacks prepared for students (right)

Students collecting free cakes and snacks (left), and students with free bananas (right) at the Central Library

Figure 8: Students collecting free cakes and snacks (left), and students with free bananas (right) at the Central Library

Free cup noodles and hot water for students studying late at the library (left), and students with iced cocoa and snacks during the final examinations (right)

Figure 9: Free cup noodles and hot water for students studying late at the library (left), and students with iced cocoa and snacks during the final examinations (right)

Source: https://www.facebook.com/libswu/posts/pfbid0JDcDX1xrHgtJuUG1MZ2XV48pWWUrhoVpkjUAQPLELWZM4iaJk9Zt4SbsMxoLA5Kbl

Source: https://www.facebook.com/libswu/posts/pfbid0CSsxf5Lig9A4D1XPYPRqnA6QeCnALBGvC32VjS1uy5N78wEn4V22oBqA8Hq9d7LBl

A continuous programme with clear coordination

The 30-Baht Meal Programme is not a one-off event. It was announced to the university community on 30 September 2025 as a policy of the President and has run every day since 1 October 2025, during teaching weeks and examination periods alike. The university administration coordinates the programme with every canteen vendor on both campuses, and the Central Library adds free food for students in every examination period, and vendors report that the menus are well received by students, staff and visitors. Through this permanent measure, SWU makes sure that affordable, nutritious food is always available on campus and reduces the risk of student food insecurity, contributing to SDG 2: Zero Hunger.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/prswu/posts/pfbid0RVbY7Mu7MDhv1TXUTQ6nYdAEBGDVhtTjg1LcDvc9MfEznGQvhbJB3DjWcrnV37rSl