After a school break, the new semester begins for students at Ban Saen Suk School in Aranyaprathet District, Sa Kaeo Province. They have returned to study and do activities in the “new normal” way. The school is implementing a strict and careful social distancing policies for the student’s safety .

This morning, the children visits a laying hen house where they raised, collected the produce for their lunch.

Baan Saen Suk School is one of many schools participated in “Raising Layer for Student's Lunch” Project, producing safe and nutritious eggs with the farming expertise from Charoen Pokphand Foods.

The company along with its partners, including Charoen Pokphand Foundation for Rural Life Development, encourages students to raise laying hen to supply eggs for their lunch program. While the extras are selling to the nearby community.

CP Foods funded them a chicken house and inputs, including animals and feed to help them set up the egg farm in the first year. In addition, animal husbandry staffs are regularly visit the school to share knowledge of systematic farm management and other technical advices.

During the COVID-19 crisis, which coincides with school break, the school cooked eggs and distributed to Thai and Cambodian students as well as the community every other day. Some of the students came to have lunch at school while the others take back home. The school also welcomes underprivileged people, villagers who have lost their jobs and other people in need during the outbreak.

Mr.Banjarong Worasetsuksiri, Director of Bann San Sook School, added that the project greatly helps the school and the community because some of the produces were sold to the community at an affordable price of 80 baht per 30 eggs while some were giving away to people in need in a time of crisis.

“The laying hens for lunch project can help students and the community a lot. During the COVID outbreak, the school used the profit from selling chicken eggs to buy raw materials such as rice to put in the community sharing cabinet, helping those in need. The school also able to buy pork to cook and distribute to children, students and people in the community" said the School Director.

In a good mood, Miss Chompoonuch Pengbunsom, Grade 5, told that, during the semester break, the school has helped the community and students by selling egg products to the community at a price of 80 baht per stall and making variety of foods for distribution to students and villagers, such as egg fried rice, stewed eggs, stir-fried zucchini with eggs.

Baan Saen Suk School It is a small school nearby the Cambodian border. 70% of students are Cambodians and 30% are Thais. The school joined the school lunch project in 2019 with the goal of promoting children and youth access to good food and nutrition, alleviating the problem of malnutrition.

Currently, 857 schools across the country have participated in Raising Layer for Student's Lunch” Program.