A school in Thailand’s lower northern province of Uthai Thani has showcased its special school lunch menu, which includes pizza, French Fries, salad and New Orleans-style barbecue chicken, now it has resumed on-site classes.

A teacher in Baan Phet Nam Phueng School decided to create a special menu for its students on their first day back at school, as their usual cook was self-isolating.

According to a Facebook post by a teacher at the school, Pattamaporn Nopparat, the budget used to create the menu was not high. The 60 pizzas started as ready-made pizza bases, at 23 baht each, and a dough and yeast which cost about 370 baht. Some elementary students even helped the teacher to make them, which saved up to 1,000 baht.

After the post was shared online, many netizens praised the teacher’s creativity and how she worked to make students happy on the resumption of on-site classes.

Even though the menu was later changed after the regular cook returned to school, to spicy papaya salad, sticky rice, spicy minced pork salad and palm cake, many students still enjoyed the lunch. Some of the parents also helped fund the school lunch, which provided a greater variety of food for all students.

Budgets for school lunches have long been an issue for rural schools across Thailand, which has led to a deterioration in quality and malnutrition in young children.

In 2019, a school director in the southern province of Surat Thani was fired over a viral clip of its students eating rice noodles mixed with fish sauce for school lunch. The director was allegedly involved in corruption related to the budget for the school’s lunches.

Baan Phet Nam Phueng School emphasises the importance of school lunch and has been praised for offering a variety of food to its students, from Thai cuisine to international favourites.