We have all learnt the English alphabet by associating each letter with something we were familiar with as a child. Let’s reverse the process. To help you get familiar with Akshaya Patra’s work, we have summarised it all in 26 words.
A – ATTENDANCE
Akshaya Patra’s mid-day meal programme has been effective in bringing children to school. Many schools have witnessed an increase in attendance since children are assured of one wholesome meal a day. For teachers, it’s always a delight to hear children answer their attendance in schools.
B – BLUE BUS
After the food is prepared, Akshaya Patra’s Blue buses deliver the fresh meals to more than 11,000 schools in India. With over 1200 vehicles that are custom designed to carry hot meals safely, hot and heallthy meals are served to children.
C – CHILDREN
The entire programme of providing mid-day meals revolves around children. More than 1.5 million children are being benefitted by Akshaya Patra’s meals every day.
D – DONATIONS
Donations is undoubtedly the backbone for our work. The immense financial support from the government, corporates, individuals and well-wishers continues to help us reach millions of children every day. You can donate to NGO too!
E – EDUCATION
We truly believe that no child should be deprived of education due to hunger. By providing mid-day meals every day, Akshaya Patra ultimately encourages every child to attend school.
F – FUNDRAISING
With Akshaya Patra, you can create your own fundraising campaign on our website and help us receive support. It’s an engaging activity and your efforts will directly help the beneficiaries.
G – GOVERNMENT AND AKSHAYA PATRA
The support from the Government of India and State Governments has made the mid-day meal porgramme an affective one. Timely procurement of grains, fund collection and tax exemptions have helped in easing the process of reaching millions of children.
H – HEALTH AND HYGIENE
Hygiene is our topmost priority when it comes to quality. Each staff member in the kitchen follows a hygiene chart and vessels are sanitised before and after usage, among other things on the checklist. This directly impacts every child’s health.
I – INNOVATION
We are constantly working towards using technological innovations that enhance our productivity and help maintain quality standards.
J – JOBS
Each one of Akshaya Patra’s department is dedicated to making a difference. We have more than 6000 employees pan India who dedicate their work hours every single day towards the cause and help each other grow.
K – KITCHENS
All of Akshaya Patra’s kitchens are well crafted with beautifully planned schedules to help us operate in the best way possible. Today, 12 of our centralised kitchens are ISO 22000:2005 certified.
L – LARGEST NGO
The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been conferred as the world’s largest NGO-run mid-day meal programme. We currently feed mid-day meals to more than 1.5 million government school children every day.
M – MID-DAY MEALS
To put an end to classroom hunger, we rely on mid-day meal programme. It has emerged as a major solution to achieve 100 per cent school enrolment. Hot and nutritious meals are delivered to all of Akshaya Patra’s beneficiary schools on all school days.
N – NEWS
We are thankful to the media for the immense support that we receive in highlighting our work. Our website has a News section too where we showcase important updates.
O – OPERATIONS
It is a massive operation to procure raw materials, prepare food, pack them in vessels, deliver them to schools and bring the vessels back to the kitchens. To achieve these, we follow a standardisation module in all kitchens and departments.
P – PROCUREMENT
From an inventory of vegetables required to make and deliver food to schools to procuring the raw materials every day, the procurement team gets the best of all at the best of prices.
Q – QUALITY
While we are reaching out to hundreds of children on a daily basis, quality continues to be the main ingredient. To maintain the quality, we follow FSSAI specifications and ensure the food is fresh when it reaches the school. A daily feedback mechanism from school plays an important part in this.
R – RECIPES
The recipes are monitored regularly to meet the needs of children in terms of calories, protein and nutrition. Nutritious food is as important as good taste. Akshaya Patra’s ingredients achieve the right balance here.
S – SCHOOLS
More than 11,000 schools are covered under Akshaya Patra’s mid-day meal programme. While the teachers nourish children with knowledge, we believe in nourishing their minds through healthy food.
T – TRANSPARENCY AND TRUST
We believe that transparency is the key to trust. At the end of each financial year, we release an Annual Report, complete with financial audits. Did we tell you our award winning annual reports are a favourite among our stakeholders?
U – UNLIMITED FOOD
As the name suggests, children have access to unlimited food. The thought behind mid-day programme is to provide unlimited food for education—to ensure children’s education is not interrupted due to hunger.
V – VISION
Our organisation works towards its vision ‘No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger.’ It is also our mission to reach 5 million children by 2020.
W – WHOLESOME MEAL
Every meal served is packed with nutritious ingredients as per Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). We ensure that the child’s daily intake of food has sufficient nutrient requirements to maintain good health.
X – FACTOR
We live with an X factor. Akshaya Patra started serving 1500 children in Bengaluru and today, the reach is more than 1.5 million. Every day we look out for opportunities to reach more children. We have recently embarked on a journey named ‘Giving Every Dream a Chance’—an initiative to help children realise their dreams and passion.
Y – YOU
You matter to us! When thoughtful and compassionate people like you join forces with us, we are empowered to bring a change.
Z – ZEALOUS PROGRAMME
It is our attempt to feed the millions of children in India who have the zeal to learn and achieve, but not the means. Akshaya Patra simply acts as the means to ensure children receive adequate support to further their education.
With that, it’s a wrap on the A-Z of Akshaya Patra! Stay tuned for more interesting reads!
