Food and Education

The anticipation one feels prior to the arrival of a delicious meal, is unmatched. The joy that follows the sight of a steaming hot meal is even more intense! Isn’t it wonderful that over 1.6 million school children in India get to experience this very joy every day in the form of a nutritious school lunch from Akshaya Patra? As we scale up our efforts to expand across the country, the number of beneficiaries we feed every day is about to rise dramatically too! Thanks to the groundwork laid in 2016, the year 2017 will see us taking a significant leap towards our mission of feeding 5 million children by 2020.

In 2016, we opened our innings in Maharashtra with our first kitchen in the state, in Nagpur.  We also added two more locations to our presence in Andhra Pradesh – Kakinada and Mangalagiri. Towards the end of the year, in December, we laid the Foundation for our first high-tech mega kitchen at Khandi in Telangana. The construction cost of the kitchen will be covered by the Infosys Foundation, which has donated Rs 18.03 crore towards it. This kitchen will feed over 1,00,000 children in the region from the next academic year.

We also initiated the process of setting up 11 new kitchens in Uttar Pradesh in the last month of 2016. The groundbreaking ceremony for the same was performed by Honourable Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Shri Akhilesh Yadav, on December 26, 2016 at Lok Bhavan, New Secretariat, Lucknow. Children in the districts of Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Agra, Allahabad, Kanpur, Etawah, Kannauj, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Rampur and Ballia will benefit from our Mid-Day Meal Programme after the establishment of these kitchens. It will expand our reach to 13 lakh beneficiary children in UP from the current 2,11,680.

We are striving hard to expand our reach across the country, where 179.6 million people live below poverty line. We urgently need your support to ensure that children do not suffer dire consequences due to hunger and lack of education. Walk with us on the road to eliminating classroom hunger now. Join the cause by lending your support!

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread,” said the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.

Classroom hunger affects the health and future prospects of school-going children. This is an issue that needs all our collective efforts to be effectively tackled and eliminated. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to feed a hungry child and receive mental and material benefits from the act? We bet it would! Donating to Akshaya Patra not only nourishes the children of the country, it also brings you a sense of great happiness at having done a noble deed and avails you tax exemption!

The receipts acknowledging the donation will be sent to you within 10 days of making the donation – the tax certificate is generated within six days and reaches you within 10 days. The good Samaritans outside of India, who wish to donate to the Foundation need not worry either.

Isn’t it wonderful, this opportunity to bring about a positive impact on the lives of India’s children and feed their dreams? The benefits are reaped not only by the children of this country but by you as well. So, go ahead and contribute to the cause of ‘Unlimited Food for Education’ here!

You can read in greater detail about free donations here.

The recently-released Akshaya Patra Annual Report for 2015-16, titled The Passioneers – Bound By Purpose. Driven By Passion, upholds a long tradition of the Foundation’s creative excellence in financial reporting. For the past few years, the organisation has been winning prestigious international and national awards for its highly creative, theme-based presentation of financials. The report this year takes people behind-the-scenes to paint intimate portraits of the faceless people who make the organisation. It includes engagingly told stories of members from different arms of the Foundation – kitchen staff, drivers, security guards and more, with wonderful graphics and illustrations.

At the 2015 Hermes Creative Awards, Akshaya Patra’s annual report for 2014-15, titled Giving Every Dream A Chance, won Platinum – the highest honour at the awards. The theme for the report was the organisation’s eponymous initiative – Giving Every Dream A Chance, which sought to encourage the dreams of the Foundation’s beneficiaries through month-long mentorships. It included beautiful, surreal, monochrome snapshots of the dreams of three children – Shivu – the aspiring astronomer, Manjula – the debuting actress and Shekar – a chef in the making. These spoke of the starry dreams of these young kids and the joy their mentorships under renowned experts brought them, along with a chance to showcase their newly-learned skills and knowledge.  This report also won Gold at the League of American Communications Professionals LLC (LACP) 2014-15 awards.

The Foundation’s much celebrated annual report for 2013-14, titled The Fab Five Superheroes, presented in comic-book style, told the story of its origins and tales of five of its beneficiaries. These young guns were Badal, Vinayak, Ambika, Munna and Mamatha. This unusual, original and highly imaginative annual report won multiple awards, including an Award of Excellence at the 21st Annual Communicator Awards; Gold at the LACP 2013-14 and a Silver at International ARC Awards. Similarly, the 2012-13 annual report won Gold at the 44th Creativity International Print and Packaging Design Awards. This report was designed as a child’s scrapbook!

Over the years, the Foundation’s award-winning annual reports have become illustrious examples of originality. They are testament to the fact that presenting the yearly highlights and financials of an organisation can be fun, imaginative and push the boundaries, without losing any of their seriousness. The ‘much-awaited’ tag that has been attached to Akshaya Patra’s annual reports is fully deserved! You can read and download the latest annual report right here.

The betterment of society is a collective responsibility. Individuals and organisations who have the means to make contributions to worthy social causes, entrust non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to make effective use of these contributions. After the end of the year, the NGO annual report details all the happenings and highlights of the year. It not only gives an insight into the workings of the NGO, but also its financials in intricate detail to ensure that every penny is accounted for and communicated to each stakeholder in the organisation. The report also outlines it short-term and long-term goals, lays out a roadmap for the future and lists its accomplishments and aspirations.

The Akshaya Patra Annual Report for 2015-16, released recently, is based on a unique theme. This year, the report, titled The Passioneers – Bound By Purpose. Driven By Passion, celebrates the dedication and toils of the people working behind-the-scenes – the ones who are the wheels and levers that keep the Foundation’s machinery, both material and metaphorical, working smoothly. These include the kitchen staff, security guards, drivers and various other arms that hold up the Foundation and carry it towards its milestones and missions. The report has a touchingly personal feel to it, as employees recount their personal journeys in the Foundation and how it has empowered them.

The year 2015-16 saw Akshaya Patra celebrating a big milestone – the serving of 2 billion cumulative meals since inception. Also, its Chairman, Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa, was conferred the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award, by the Government of India. The road ahead for the Foundation is one with a clear vision and mission – feeding 5 million children by 2020. The annual report is a tool for all stakeholders to look to the future through Akshaya Patra’s eyes and see it as imagined by the Foundation. It allows them to be a part of this journey, understand the many ways in which it expects to grow and how they can effectively contribute to bring about this growth.

The Passioneers, thus, is not merely a report card of the Foundation. It is also a celebration of the emotional investment and passion that drives the Foundation. Do give it a read here!

Millions of children across India are nourished with Akshaya Patra’s mid-day meals every day. These meals are purely vegetarian, including a plethora of vegetables, pulses, legumes and nuts, calibrated to provide adequate amount of nutrition to children. The Foundation’s commitment to vegetarianism stands firm, as the world discovers the many benefits of plant-based diets. These include the obvious health benefits (since the foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, proteins and antioxidants, among other nutrients), along with a positive impact on the environment.

So, what are these benefits that come with consuming food items from the plant kingdom? The base of good health is laid in childhood, with a robust diet and adhering to plant-based eating habits can be richly rewarding. Firstly, a vegetarian diet has been proven to reduce the risk of Type 2 Diabetes. It also aids weight loss and metabolic control. Another significant advantage of including food items sourced from plants is its positive effect on cardiovascular health and prevention, reduction and even reversion of heart disease. Vegetables with high fibre content, along with minerals and vitamins, help prevent the clogging of arteries and reduce stress.

Plant-based diets also score high on the impact they have on the environment. A study published in the science journal Nature by scientists from the University of Minnesota in the United States of America stated that plant-based diets could reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions across the world and lessen the impacts of climate change driven by food production. The Akshaya Patra Foundation recognises this and has always gone the extra mile to be greener – it has undertaken the task of installing biogas plants and solar panels at its kitchens across India, making use of renewable energy to prepare its meals. Additionally, vegetarian diets are more sustainable compared to its alternatives because plant-based agriculture isn’t as resource-intensive as other forms of agriculture.

The world is embracing vegetarianism with renewed vigour and as more benefits of plant-based diets are revealed, it is becoming a movement that gathers momentum with every successive year. Akshaya Patra’s beneficiaries love the tasty, healthy vegetarian fare served by the Foundation, which fuels their dreams each school day. To make sure that they receive these nutritious mid-day meals every day, contribute to the cause of Food for Education here.

Children’s Day is approaching and we couldn’t be happier! School Children have been our focus through 16 years of Mid-Day Meal Programme. We welcome you to celebrate Children’s Day with our 1.6 million Akshaya Patra beneficiaries!  

Childhood – a time of innocence, frolic and carefreeness. The realities of life are at a safe distance, as a child’s world is cocooned by elders and unmarred by experience. A day like Children’s Day is a wonderful occasion, devoted to the most celebratory phase of one’s life.  While the colours of childhood are always bright, the land beyond the mountain – adulthood – always holds much fascination to the young mind. Akshaya Patra’s beneficiaries are no different – their kaleidoscope of dreams for the future shining through in varied hues.

Pithali from Assam loves dramatics and dreams of becoming an actress in Assamese movies. Hailing from Khudradadhi, Assam, this lady also wants to travel the world with her family of five, which includes her father, a seasonal mason; her mother, who stitches beautiful mekhela chadars (Assamese garment) and siblings. Then, there is Rohit from Vrindavan, who wants to be a professional Kho-kho player when he grows up. Now that’s an interesting choice!

In a village on the outskirts of Jaipur, there’s Salim, whose father owns a transport business. They use their donkeys to transport construction material and other heavy equipment. Salim wants to take over this family business, so that his father can retire and relax at home, after all, the hard work he has put in over the years. Down South, in Bengaluru, there’s Madan, who wants to serve the country by joining the Indian Administrative Services (IAS). He takes inspiration from the late IAS officer DK Ravi, whose personality and intelligence he ardently admires.

Chetan from Surat, whose family migrated to the city from Amravati in Maharashtra, wants to contribute to cityscapes by becoming an architect and designing tall buildings. Zinkal, from the city of Ahmedabad, wants to be the face of girl power and join the army to defend the nation. This is a dream that her family too has for her, which she wants to fulfil after growing up. She is an avid sportswoman, interested in track and field events like the long jump.

Akshaya Patra’s meals thus fuel the dreams of its beneficiaries. The organisation also took up a special initiative – Giving Every Dream A Chance – to bring a few of its beneficiaries a step closer to their dreams, by launching month-long mentorship programmes for them, under the guidance of experts. As India celebrates the spirit of childhood and all its children this Children’s Day, the Foundation, which only recently celebrated its 16th birthday on November 11, reaffirms its commitment to secure the futures of millions of children across India with unlimited food for education.

Fan the dreams of school children this Children’s Day. Contribute to strengthening their future.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation turns 16 on November 11, 2016. Through the years of Mid-Day Meal Programme to feed school children in India, the organisation has grown in leaps and bounds; we have built sustainable kitchens, expanded our beneficiary base, extended help during natural disasters, and we will stride towards feeding 5 million children by 2020!

16 years and 16 lakh children!

16 years ago, Akshaya Patra began a journey that would one day become the world’s largest NGO-run feeding programme.

Mid-Day Meal Programme – Unlimited Food for Education, started with a beneficiary base of 1,500 children and today, over 1.6 million children across the length and breadth of India are supported by this initiative. During all these years of transforming the lives of many children through quality food, Akshaya Patra has also created diversified work opportunities for many individuals who plan and execute our programme on a daily basis.

In the last few years, Akshaya Patra has overcome many challenges and continues to grow with support from the government, benevolent donors and well-wishers.  Our school lunch programme is meant to eliminate classroom hunger and encourage children to attend school. However, mid-day meal is more than just an incentive. It fills the gap of having to choose between education and work.

With the help of donors, Akshaya Patra organises health check-up camps in beneficiary schools, distributes hygiene kits, school shoes, bags and other essentials to children. To ensure effective operations of Mid-Day Meal Programme, the Foundation also conducts training programmes for kitchen and operations staff on a regular basis.

Akshaya Patra’s 16 years of relentless efforts began with determination and compassion. We believe this journey will continue to impact many more children in the coming years. This year, as we complete the serving of 2 Billion Meals, the Foundation acknowledges the outpouring support it has received over the last few years.

Let’s make children our priority and ensure they receive the two most important elements that can define their later years – education and health.

For everyone living in Karnataka, the first day of November is a holiday. This day, known as Kannada Rajyotsava, symbolises the birth of Karnataka. In other words, it was the day Karnataka was formed back in 1956. So, how did this occasion come to be?

Here’s a quick look at this historic day and what it is all about.

On November 1, 1956, all the Kannada-speaking states of southern India were amalgamated to form a new state. This entity was originally called Mysore, but the name was too reminiscent of the princely state of yore, which was why the name was changed to ‘Karnataka’ on November 1, 1973.

Kannada Rajyotsava is celebrated with much gusto across the state. The red and yellow colours of the Karnataka flag fill the streets and the flag is hoisted at important locations, while the state anthem, Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate composed by the great poet Kuvempu, is sung. The boundaries of religion, age, caste, gender and income blur, as the state unites to celebrate its formation. The occasion is a tribute to the state of Karnataka and celebrates its glory – from the notable progress it has made, to its ongoing development.

On this day, the State Government confers the Rajyotsava Award upon eminent citizens, who have adorned Karnataka with the jewels of their noteworthy achievements; Akshaya Patra’s Chairman, Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa, received Rajyotsava Award in the year 2003.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is delighted to have started its journey in this very state in Bengaluru, in the year 2000, by serving meals to children in five schools in the city. Currently, we provide nutritious mid-day meals to children in five cities across Karnataka – Bengaluru, Hubballi, Mangaluru, Mysuru and Ballari, via its six centralised kitchens.  In Karnataka alone, we feed 5,09,252 children in 2,841 Government and Government-aided schools every day.

On this wonderful occasion of Kannada Rajyotsava, the Foundation thanks the state where it was born and expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the Government of Karnataka for all the support it has extended. It also thanks its numerous donors and corporates, who have generously contributed to its cause of unlimited food for education. Please continue your support by contributing to Akshaya Patra.

On the occasion of World Food Day 2016, read about Akshaya Patra’s commitment to delivering high-quality meals to school children. The Foundation’s cause of food for education is the driving force behind its acclaimed Mid-Day Meal Programme.

Food is the most basic necessity that drives all life on earth and ensures that the circle of life continues without hindrance. Sadly, humanity, ever-expanding, is grappling with hunger and malnutrition, as a large number of people across the globe are deprived of their right to food security. The nations of the world recognise the need to tackle these issues, and hence, observe World Food Day 2016 on October 16, to commemorate the formation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945.

For the past 16 years, Akshaya Patra has been devoted to the cause of ending classroom hunger, with a mission that no child should be deprived of education due to hunger. In 2016, the organisation reached an important milestone of having served 2 billion meals since its inception. Providing a meal a day for school children in 11 states across India is no mean feat. It involves strict adherence to quality – from the initial stages of procuring the ingredients to the cooking processes and the distribution of food. Here’s how the Foundation feeds school children – from crafting its meals to delivering them.

Procurement

The first step to a healthy meal is sourcing ingredients from credible sellers. Akshaya Patra trains its focus on avoiding middlemen and sourcing ingredients directly from manufacturers/farmers. The locations from which the ingredients are sourced are picked keeping in mind the logistics – sites closest to kitchens are chosen. The price for purchase of these materials is fixed by an internal joint committee and the Foundation continuously strives to reduce dependency on urban mandis.

Akshaya Patra follows Supplier Quality Management programme in selecting and approving vendors. These vendors, all of whom are licensed under Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and follow the authority’s specifications for raw materials, are pre-audited by the quality team prior to approval. The ingredients are sourced from various entities, pan India:

• The pulses come from Gulbarga and Hubballi (Karnataka), Latur (Maharashtra), Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Jaipur (Rajasthan)
• Vegetables are sourced from Cuttack (Odisha), Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) and local farmers in different locations
• Spices are bought from Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), Byadgi (Karnataka), Salem (Tamil Nadu), Jodhpur and Kota (Rajasthan), and Sangli (Maharashtra)
• Edible oil comes from Mangalore (Karnataka) and Kandla (Gujarat)
• Dairy is bought from Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Anand (Gujarat), companies like Mother Dairy

Amid the cacophony of wars and violence in the world, the dove of peace finds it difficult to make a successful flight. However, peace remains something to strive relentlessly for, if we are to leave behind the world that is worth inheriting. The United Nations has dedicated September 21 to world peace, in a bid to promote peace education and prevent war.

The reasons for conflicts across the world and their impact on the livelihoods of people in conflict zones are many, but one issue that doesn’t get the attention it deserves is that of food insecurity. Food insecurity plays an important role, not only in driving conflict but also in sustaining it. According to a report titled Harvesting Peace: Food Security, Conflict and Cooperation, published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, food shortage and famine led to a never-ending loop of instability in countries such Somalia. High prices of food staples also triggered civil unrest and initiated food riots and food wars in numerous countries around the world. Food insecurity also provided an impetus for people to take part in conflicts and rebellions.

The onus lies on governments and the people of the world, to ensure food security for populations across the planet. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) says that interventions related to food security can help build resilience to conflict. The FAO supported a government programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo, giving kits to former combatants, which led to them forming a fruitful association to arrange food and integrating them into civilian lives. Such initiatives are necessary if the vicious cycle of food insecurity, violence and instability are to be broken. As American biologist and Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug said, “If you desire peace, cultivate justice, but at the same time cultivate the fields to produce more bread; otherwise there will be no peace.”

This International Day of Peace, bring contentment to the hungry stomachs of children. Help children secure one nutritious meal per day, which will help keep them in school.

Make your contribution today.