Source: Affordable Food Prices for Sustainable Life
UGM builds a healthy and affordable food culture through comprehensive policies and initiatives. In the Faculty of Engineering, their canteens sell affordable meals and food in the price range of 5,000 to 20,000 IDR, which is still in the range of people’s expenses of 7,000 IDR in the DIY Province. Available food options and prices are promoted on social media platforms such as our official UGM TikTok account. Students are informed of the variety of affordable food options under 15,000 IDR.
Our university canteens are supervised by the The Healthy Eating Program (Program Kerja Pola Makan Sehat) from the Health Promoting University (HPU) UGM published the UGM Healthy Canteen Practical Guidelines Book, which contains references to books related to sanitation and hygiene, as well as the authors’ experiences in delivering lectures on food safety and food processing unit planning. This book is intended for canteen managers and employees at Gadjah Mada University as a guide in providing nutritious, safe and healthy food menus and creating a comfortable canteen environment.
Since 2022, the Practical Guidelines for Healthy Canteens have served as a key reference for UGM canteen managers and staff, helping them provide nutritious, hygienic, and healthy meals in an inclusive campus environment. The guidelines, grounded in food safety expertise, highlight hygiene and sanitation steps in a format that is simple, practical, and easy to implement in all canteens. Food from UGM canteens must also align with national standards, such as those set by Indonesia’s Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM).
The 2023 Practical Guidelines for Healthy Canteens is an updated edition of the guidelines in response to post-pandemic changes. The updated guide integrates new health protocols and operational standards, offering practical direction on food handling, staff conduct, facility management, and visitor health measures.
The Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing (FK-KMK) commits to the Healthy Canteen guidelines by establishing the Healthy Community Movement (Gerakan Masyarakat Hidup Sehat or Germas). The Healthy Community Movement involves providing easy access to nutritious meals on campus in the Master of Public Health Canteen (IKM Canteen). The IKM Canteen serves as a model for promoting balanced and healthy eating habits. The canteen offers a variety of nutritious menu options, including fruits and vegetables, with the goal of encouraging the campus community, particularly students to adopt healthier dietary patterns as part of their daily routines. In addition to FK-KMK, the Faculty of Economics and Business also provides a publicly accessible cafeteria menu book to help students choose meals based on taste, price, and nutritional needs.
In the future, UGM canteens will continue to provide healthy, real, and hygienic food products, equipped with regulations and nutritional information. Regulations on healthy food options are are mentioned in the following:
Sources: SOP for Canteen Development within the University Environment
To ensure consistent implementation, UGM complements these guidelines with standard operating procedures, workshops, webinars, focus group discussions, and visual learning materials such as posters and banners on healthy food choices. These ongoing initiatives reflect UGM’s campus-wide effort to promote a culture of healthy and responsible eating among students and staff in 2024.
Besides our university canteens, UGM’s cafes, minimarts, and shops are also committed to providing healthy and affordable food options. The PIAT Shop for instance expanded its selection of foods to include a range of healthy meal packages, such as fresh vegetables, protein-based frozen foods, and instant herbal products designed to help maintain stamina and meet daily nutritional needs. These initiatives reflect UGM’s sustained effort to integrate health, accessibility, and sustainability into everyday campus life.
References:
- Rector’s Regulation No. 6 of 2016
- Rector’s Regulation No. 14 of 2019
- SOP for Canteen Development within the University Environment
- Practical Guidelines for Healthy Canteens
- The Healthy Community Movement (Gerakan Masyarakat Hidup Sehat or Germas)
- Canteen promotes affordable food options in the Faculty of Engineering
- PIAT Shop