Akshaya Patra Initiative

Akshaya Patra is an NGO in Telangana which serves as the implementing partner of the government’s ambitious nutrition welfare programme, the PM POSHAN Abhiyaan, to support children’s nutrition and education.

AN OVERVIEW OF AKSHAYA PATRA

The Akshaya Patra Foundation began its journey in Bengaluru in the year 2000 by feeding school meals to 1,500 students. In implementing the Government of India’s PM POSHAN Abhiyaan or Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Programme, our main aim is to eliminate classroom hunger and enhance the nutritional status of children.

AKSHAYA PATRA – AN NGO IN TELANGANA

Akshaya Patra is striving to empower children in Telangana through its four state-of-the-art centralised kitchens.

Akshaya Patra opened its first kitchen in the state in Warangal in 2017. Currently, in the state of Telangana, the foundation feeds mid-day meal beneficiaries and Anganwadi beneficiaries (including nursing mothers, pregnant women and their children) as well.

As of today, we are operating four kitchens across the state: Warangal, Narsingi, Nawabpet and Kandi. Cumulatively, we are feeding 1,65,573 children in 2,503 schools in the state, serving them freshly cooked wholesome meals thereby maintaining their nutritional levels and supporting their education.

When children receive hot, tasty and nutritious meals in schools, it encourages them to come to school every day, thus improving attendance and retention rates. Proper nutrition gives them the ability to concentrate better in their classes and perform well in academics.

Regardless of the region, serving meals based on the local palate and cyclical menu has always been a priority for the NGO. In Telangana, we serve rice, tomato pappu, veg pulav, channa masala, leafy pappu, tomato rice, moong dal payasam, etc.

An overview of Akshaya Patra’s work in Telangana

Beneficiary Stories

While Akshaya Patra is a renowned name in the school feeding space, its credibility as one of the best NGOs in Telangana has been strengthened by its relief feeding efforts in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Foundation served cooked meals and essential grocery kits to ensure people’s access to nutrition during the pandemic.

Support Us to Nurture Children!

With the support of the government, corporate and individual donors, philanthropists and well-wishers, we are nurturing the hopes of millions of children. No child shall be deprived of education because of hunger. Keeping this in mind, we are constantly trying to expand our reach. With your support to help us implement the PM POSHAN Abhiyaan, we can ensure that children relish their meals and walk towards achieving their dreams.

The mere thought of a child sitting in the class on an empty stomach, unable to concentrate on studies, is heart-wrenching. It is the reason Akshaya Patra strives to go the extra mile and reach children in the nook and corner of the country. Since its inception in 2000, the organisation has diligently pursued its vision of ‘No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger.’ Headquartered in Bengaluru, the organisation presently has kitchens in 16 states and 2 UTs. Let us take you on a tour of Akshaya Patra kitchens in Gujarat.

Akshaya Patra in Gujarat

A major factor that accelerated the entry of Akshaya Patra NGO in Gujarat was the visit of the honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, to the Bengaluru facility in 2007. With the support of the government, corporates and individual donors, we started serving first in Surat in 2009. Currently, we have eight centralised kitchens in the state, through which we are serving 4,06,437 children in 3,416 schools. The mid-day meals have succeeded in bringing more children to schools.

The menu

The menu differs each day to give children a variety of tastes, adhering to the local palate and thus satisfying their food preferences. This also meets the nutritional standards of children.

Beneficiary children

What makes us one of the most popular NGOs in Gujarat is our commitment to create an equitable world by ensuring nutrition and education for all children, especially from marginalised communities. As an implementing partner of the Government of India’s PM POSHAN Abhiyaan (Mid-Day Meal Programme or MDM), we are striving to nourish the dreams of all children. The improvement in the enrollment, attendance and retention rates proves that all efforts have been fruitful. By donating online, you can also support us in our endeavours to realise the dreams of children like Divya, Vanjara and Deepika.

Join us in this journey of alleviating classroom hunger under the MDM Programme. Donate online and be a changemaker.

2023 at The Akshaya Patra Foundation marked the generosity and commitment of our esteemed donors and well-wishers for a healthier and prosperous future. Our 23-year-old NGO persisted for another year in its relentless efforts towards nourishing vulnerable populations.

Not only did we serve mid-day meals (MDM) to government school children under our core programme for PM POSHAN Abhiyaan, but also substantially supported crisis victims with our relief feeding initiatives.

Last year, due to steadfast collaborations with our donors, well-wishers and governments, we accomplished
• Serving food from new kitchens
• Felicitation students and teachers from our beneficiary schools for their exceptional accomplishments
• ISO certifications for our existing units
• Recognition for the lives we impacted

Here is a rundown of events highlighting our progress in humanitarian service.

New kitchens

3 kitchens were added to our NGO’s network last year. They serve children under PM POSHAN Abhiyaan as well as provide food assistance during emergencies.

Food relief efforts

We helped deliver food relief during
• land subsidence in Joshimath, Uttarakhand in January, and
• floods in Assam in July

Nourish the Change Awards

Nourish the Change Awards is an Akshaya Patra initiative to recognise students and teachers from beneficiary schools for their extraordinary achievements beyond the classroom walls.

• In an interactive session between students and our leaders on 23 August 2023 in Bengaluru, students and teachers from our beneficiary schools were recognised for their admirable commitment and diligence. Indian artist and film director, Mr Prakash Belawadi and His Highness Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the 27th Head and Custodian of the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore graced the event with their presence.

• We marked the 11th anniversary of our Surat Kitchen with Nourish the Change Awards. The event took place on 13 October 2023 in the esteemed presence of Meenaben M Gajjar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner – PM POSHAN Yojna, Surat Municipal Corporation, and many corporate visionaries and ardent advocates of our noble cause.

• On 23 November 2023, Nourish the Change Awards – Mumbai honoured partnerships and felicitated teachers and students who achieved extraordinary milestones despite multiple challenges. Kaustubh Dhavse, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Board Member, Mumbai Film Festival and Krishnakant Upadhyay (IPS), Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mumbai graced the occasion with their presence. Indian Celebrity Chef & Indian Cultural Ambassador, Shipra Khanna and several dignitaries from the film, television and radio fraternity were also present to commemorate the achievers.

• Our Visakhapatnam Kitchen marked its 15th anniversary on 20 December 2023 with the Nourish the Change Awards. 15 years ago, it started by serving MDM to 5,445 children in 7 government schools. To date, it has served more than 31,80,000 mid-day meals and over 25,70,000 meals in Anganwadi centres.

Other highlights

• At the Corporate event of the 12th edition of World CSR Day in February 2023, www.worldcsrday.com presented the Certificate of Merit to Akshaya Patra.

• In March 2023, Akshaya Patra and Share Our Strength, a US-based national NGO facilitating school meals worldwide, jointly organised ‘Feed the Future Now’ at Chitnavis Centre. People of Nagpur came in numbers to the fundraising event to pledge donations to feed children.

• In March 2023, our 44th centralised kitchen in Gambheeram, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, was certified with ISO 22000:2018, testifying the hygienic and high-quality food it has been serving since its inception.

• We launched ‘Clean Slate Carnival’ on 15 May 2023, a drive to welcome children back to school. The pilot was carried out in collaboration with Citibank, Cargill, LSEG and Swiss Re to revamp 18 schools across Bengaluru which included cleaning the school premises and painting blackboards for a cleaner and safer environment.

• In July 2023, we were bestowed with the Silver Award towards the COVID Food Relief Project by the 7th CSR Health Impact Awards 2023. The award was presented by Smt Kiran Bedi, Former Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.

• Our kitchen in Singupuram, Andhra Pradesh, bagged ISO 22000:2018 certification in July 2023 for maintaining hygiene in the kitchen and serving quality food. We provide mid-day meals in schools under the State Government’s Gorumudda and other programmes.

• Honourable Former Vice-President of India, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu, launched mid-day meal distribution in October 2023, supported by Akshaya Patra, for ITI students of Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya Samithi.

• We were honoured with the Nexus of Good Award 2023 in November in the ‘Initiatives for Quality Education’ category. Mr Prabhat Kumar Singh, Former Cabinet Secretary and Governor, and Mr Anil Swarup, Former Coal Secretary of India, presented this prestigious recognition.

We are grateful for the trust placed in us by the people of India. It has allowed us to serve our society without barriers for over two decades and contribute to bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots. With nationwide support, we have collectively supported socioeconomically challenged populations with a vital resource for survival – food.

Your donations over ₹500 to Akshaya Patra are eligible for 80G deductions under the Income Tax Act. However, only those who have opted for the old regime can redeem these 80G deductions.

Become a changemaker today! Join us and enable an inclusive future for India with an online donation.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation came into existence 22 years ago to serve children from government and government-aided schools. A public-private partnership (PPP) was formed with the Government of India to implement the PM POSHAN Abhiyaan (formerly known as the Mid-Day Meal Programme). Since then, we have been working relentlessly to end classroom hunger and promote children’s education across India by giving them the nutrition they need.

This flagship programme has played a significant role in raising the number of students enrolled in schools. Additionally, it has assisted in lowering the dropout rate, improved the attendance rate. The programme has also improved children’s nutritional status, which has enriched their health and cognitive development.

Today, we offer ‘unlimited food for education’ to over 2 million students every school day across 15 states and 2 union territories in India from our 66 kitchens.

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Additionally, we also run the Anganwadi Feeding Programme and feed toddlers, between the age of 0-6 years, and expectant and lactating mothers from underprivileged communities. This programme ensures stimulation in early childhood which is critical for the development of their healthy brains and bodies.

Also, we serve breakfast to children under our Breakfast Programme. This provides adequate nutrition to the children, helping them attend school regularly with higher concentration and interest. They perform better in both academics and co-curricular while cultivating good behaviour as they grow. Without breakfast, children struggle with low memory recall and have higher chances of making errors.

Furthermore, we also provide wholesome meals to homeless mothers staying at ashrams in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh. With the help of this effort, we seek to provide their basic nutritional needs so they can use their ability to work, overcome obstacles in life and lead a dignified life.

During emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic, floods, droughts and rainstorms, we provide food relief to people from vulnerable communities.

The table below shows the latest feeding numbers:

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Donate and make a difference in the lives of people who need your support. Be it in times of crisis or during regular days, your contribution goes a long way.

Contribute online to Akshaya Patra, today!

Long-term hunger is the one problem that is the root cause of many other concerns in India.

Hunger pushes children to work for an additional income at the age where they must be in school playing, learning and exploring their potential. Malnutrition in nursing and expecting mothers affects their strength during and after childbirth. It also strips infants of essential nutrients during the crucial years of their growth and development.

When malnourishment hits growing children, it invites several chronic and fatal diseases. Not only that, but it also hinders the efficient growth of their vital organs that may cripple them for their entire lives! When school-going children face undernourishment, they lack the physical and mental strength to learn, wasting their time and efforts in school resulting in low performance and confidence levels.

Intervention of NGOs
Keeping in mind these frequently-occurring circumstances in India, many not-for-profit entities surfaced to help people in distress and support their development.

One such NGO in India is The Akshaya Patra Foundation which works in the service of children since the last 21 years to nourish them and support their education. But recognizing a host of other social issues in India, we began expanding our services to address hardships that have lived amongst us for centuries and affected the pace of our development as a nation.

Below are the social initiatives that we are working on currently.

PM Poshan Abhiyan
The PM Poshan Abhiyan (formerly known as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme) was mandated in India in 2001 to feed underprivileged school children in Government and Government-aided schools.

Given the size of India and its population, during the scheme’s infancy, implementation of the became the biggest problem. Therefore, multiple NGOs pooled in efforts to see through the its execution throughout the country.

We, at Akshaya Patra, are an NGO in India, distributing meals in low-income schools since 2000. Therefore, partnership with the Government became a win-win for both parties where collaborated efforts proved beneficial for disadvantaged families in two ways:

• It encouraged parents to send their children to school as they served meals free of cost. As a result, it improved the enrollment and attendance rates in schools. Also, more girls began attending schools
• The programme nourished growing children, helped them focus better at school and strengthened their immunity to diseases. As a result, they scored better both in academics and extra-curricular activities, thus proving a promising future for the family and nation on the whole

Today, we can proudly say that many of our beneficiaries are earning well at recognised organisations and some have become donors themselves to carry forward the noble tradition of giving.

Anganwadi Feeding Programme
Anganwadi Centres are centres for mother and child care in India. They are a part of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme—one of the centrally sponsored flagship programmes for children and nursing mothers.

The concept revolves around the fact that stimulation during the first six years of life is critical for a healthy development. Therefore, malnutrition is best-addressed in the formative years of a child’s life. This includes breastfeeding and providing small doses of cooked food during their early childhood.

To ensure these requirements are efficiently met, we started the Anganwadi Feeding Programme that supported the Government’s initiative to nourish infants from the time they are in their mother’s womb. It also ensures nourishment for would-be and lactating mothers.

Feeding Homeless Mothers
Homeless mothers (young or old) from marginalized communities often struggle to make ends meet due to a lack of support from their families. They barely manage one meal a day, leave alone saving for their future. Hence, our initiative for these helpless and homeless mothers feeds and provides them with essential nutrients that will help them rise to the challenges of life.

Disaster Relief Activities
Natural calamities often bring unexpected, massive and lasting damage to human lives and property. Thus, we proactively responded to unfortunate disaster victims during floods, cyclones, earthquakes and the COVID-19 pandemic with cooked meals and grocery kits.

Till now, we have supported lakhs of people in regions of Assam, Odisha, Kerala, North Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Nepal. Currently, we are helping flood victims of Assam and Andhra Pradesh. We have served cooked meals and packed meals and continue to distribute flood relief grocery kits to help in their survival.

The relief activities are still on and you can donate to feed the needy flood victims through online donations.

Scholarship Programme
The Scholarship Programme at Akshaya Patra is a unique initiative as it aims to benefit children beyond meal distribution. It was started to support the education of children and prevent school dropouts. The programme helps our beneficiaries to continue their studies while motivating them to consider pursuing their higher studies. Currently, we run two categories of scholarship programmes:

• Alumni Scholarships – Our beneficiaries who have graduated standard X receive this scholarship to pursue higher studies.
• Akshaya Patra Beneficiary Scholarships – Our beneficiaries studying in standards IX and X receive this scholarship.

Beyond the Meals
Today, every field in this world is progressing with full-speed; thanks to the new-age digital equipment and the internet. But the digital divide in developing countries like India became evident during the pandemic where millions of children had to discontinue schooling due to a lack of access to digital aids. Additionally, it also reversed the benefits of years’ worth of their efforts towards learning and education.

Digital education is also crucial when preparing for competitive examinations. Children from challenging backgrounds can trade their academic brilliance through these exams for a better financial and social standing.

Thus, recognising the importance of digital aids in learning, we started the Beyond Meals – Digital Education Programme to make digital education accessible to underprivileged. This flagship initiative engages in the Government’s education system to bring out excellent learning outcomes while supporting an enjoyable schooling experience.

The programme also contributes to the Government of India’s s vision of ‘Digital India’ and supports the endeavours of low-income students in Government schools.

Final Thoughts
Today, contributing to the needs of marginalized sections in India is as easy as browsing the internet on your phone. Now, anyone from around the world can donate to feed the needy beneficiaries of our initiatives through an organized and simple online process.

With the click of a button, any amount from a kind donor like you can flip the socio-economic conditions of the lesser privileged and also contribute towards building a self-reliant India.

Making a difference is not a lengthy process anymore but the only ask is a noble thought.

CONTRIBUTE TODAY

एक बसर बुखार चड़ा होगा तो फिर भी सो जाएंगे पर भुखे पेट तो चौबीस घंटे नींद नहीं आएगी। (“If we have fever, we will still sleep. On a hungry stomach though, sleep will evade us for 24 hours.”) 65-year-old Omkar—a dweller of the Dandi Park rain basera (night shelter)—talks about the importance of food. Omkar is one of the thousands of beneficiaries of The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s night shelter feeding in Delhi.

Akshaya Patra has always strived to utilise the spare capacities of its kitchens to serve the community—be it food relief as a part of humanitarian efforts during emergencies, feeding of widow mothers in Vrindavan (Uttar Pradesh) or COVID-19 food assistance across the country since March 2020. In the same vein, the Foundation is now working with the Government of NCT of Delhi to serve cooked meals to homeless people taking refuge in 209 night shelters run by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB).

Across Delhi, thousands of individuals seek refuge in DUSIB’s night shelters. These dwellings function year-round to provide basic facilities, including a bed and blanket, basic medical care and food, to the homeless. Every individual taking refuge in these facilities has his or her own reason. While the homeless seek protection from the harsh winter, migrant labourers consider it free accommodation which helps them save a portion of their meagre earnings to send it to their families back home.

Akshaya Patra operates four kitchens in Delhi in its capacity as the implementing partner of the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Programme. It is currently using three of these kitchens (i.e., Gole Market, Badli and Jahangirpuri) to undertake the feeding initiative. It is serving nearly 12,000 meals to the homeless in night shelters every day. These include aged persons, daily-wage labourers, widows and single women, individuals battling addiction and individuals needing medical care, among others.

Like Omkar, many people aged 60 and above seek refuge in these shelters with nowhere to go due to personal reasons. Their problems are compounded by the fact that they can’t find any work due to their age. While shelter homes put a roof over their head, Akshaya Patra’s feeding initiative helps address hunger by providing them lunch and dinner. “Now we have a roof on our head and blankets. We get food in the afternoon and evening which is of immense help so much so that if it doesn’t come, we will have to go to sleep on a glass of water,” Indu and Dileep Mandal, an elderly couple living in a family shelter, express.

Delhi is one of the preferred destinations for people from various parts of the country who seek a better life for themselves and their families back home. Many of these people engage in daily-wage work, such as painting/whitewashing, construction site labour, pulling cycle-rickshaw, etc. They step out to work during the daytime and return in the evening, with the free shelter and food helping them a lot financially. “We earn a meagre sum after working the whole day,” Suresh Ram, a cycle-rickshaw puller who has come to Delhi from Odisha, states. “If we spend money on food at a hotel, it eats into our savings. Then we are left with hardly any money to send home. The free food helps us save money for our family.”

“Due to COVID and cold weather, people are not stepping out. That means there is less work for us,” Raju—another cycle rickshaw puller—voices their problem. “Luckily, we have a place to sleep and good food to eat. With the food taken care of, I can save enough money to take care of my family,” he further adds.

While they were earning barely enough to pay the rent before the pandemic, their situation has now worsened and many of them have been left with no option but to move into these night shelters. Sanju, a painter by profession, has temporarily sought shelter in one of the rain baseras with his family. He says, “It is the circumstances that have brought us here. We would have preferred to work hard and live in our own house, but that is not possible. For people like me, there is no work due to COVID.” Sanju is waiting for the day things will return to normal. Until then, this food and shelter are the only sources of comfort for them.

The Government is doing as much as it can to ensure that people are not left out on the streets in cold. Every day, volunteers and police patrol the streets and ask those living on the streets to move into night shelters. Padmini and her family were making a living by selling toys on traffic lights. With the winter becoming intense, the cops asked them to move into night shelters for their own safety. “When they asked to move we shifted from our makeshift structure in the vicinity of traffic lights to this temporary shelters. It is better because now we are protected from cold and we also get free food at this shelter facility,” she says.

Many people have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. With no money to pay the rent, many of them were forced to return home. As things slowly return to normal, they are coming back. Vineet Kumar Pandey, a native of Uttar Pradesh, used to work as a security guard in Delhi before he lost his job and returned home during the pandemic. He is back in Delhi now. His former employer got in touch with him for an opportunity. Vineet tells us, “He [employer] assured me that he will sort things out, but it will take a couple of days. I needed a place to stay until then. So I went to Bangla Sahib Gurudwara. Someone there told me about this shelter facility and I moved here. It is a nice facility where we get all the basics, including food.” Circumstances have also prompted many people to send their families back to their hometown and find temporary refuge in these shelters.

Everyone is aware of the importance of food and shelter. Meena, a resident of a shelter for women in Dwarka, puts it aptly. “Even if we are working somewhere, we need two things: proper sleep and good food. We no doubt need money because there are other expenses. However, if we can sleep properly at night and have good food to eat, then we can be content and lead our life. The good thing about this place [rain basera] is that we get both these things.”

The Government of Delhi is doing a remarkable job in helping homeless people. Akshaya Patra’s strives to aid the Government’s efforts through the night shelter feeding initiative. For the thousands of people taking refuge in these shelters in the harsh winter in Delhi, two things provide immense comfort – a warm bed and blanket and the assurance of a hot meal.