General

Akshaya Patra Foundation, the largest school meal program industriously completed tenth year of its feeding the underprivileged children in government schools this year. Starting with a meager 1500 children in 5 schools of Bangalore the foundation today reaches out to 1.2 million children every day across 9 states and 19 locations.

To celebrate this occasion the foundation decided to launch a photography contest. The contest had an extremely interesting theme. Akshaya Patra wanted to cherish the smiles it could bring in millions of faces through its mid day meal program in these 10 years of its operations and hence named it as ‘click a smile’. The contest was restricted to only Indian nationals. The participants were asked to capture smiles of the children on the street, in a play ground, a school in their neighbour’s yard and send in their entries.

Registrations stated flooding in from different parts of the country. Around 260 people registered and 102 photographs qualified for the contest. A photograph of Mr. Sudipto Das has been selected as the best shot of the contest after a stringent analysis of all 102 photographs by three times Cannes award winning photographer Mr. Senthil Kumar. The next three photographs which grabbed his attention and were highly appreciated are from Ms. Priya Prakash, Mr. Prasad.S and Mr. Avi Kabir.

The winner of the contest, as announced earlier is going to be sent for an adventurous photographic trip to one of the decentralized kitchens of Akshaya Patra accompanied by a distinguished photographer Mr. Senthil and get an in-hand experience on photography.

Further the foundation also plans to hold an exhibition cum auction of the best 30 photographs, the proceeds of which will go to The Akshaya Patra Foundation for feeding more hungry children and bringing in more and more smiles.

Dr.Gururaj Deshpande, co-founder and chairman of Sycamore Networks and chairman of Akshaya Patra, USA , has been appointed as one of the Co-Chairman of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, This is to support President Obama’s innovation strategy by helping to develop policies that foster entrepreneurship, create jobs, and drive economic growth. This was announced by US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke at a U.S. Department of Commerce University Innovation Forum at the University of Michigan.

Dr.Deshpande is one of 26 members and the only Indian to be co-chairing this council. Members of the council include serial entrepreneurs, university presidents, investors and non-profit leaders. Steve Case, Mary Sue Coleman, and Desh Deshpande will serve as Co-Chairs.

“America’s innovation engine is not as efficient or as effective as it needs to be, and we are not creating as many jobs as we should,” Locke said. “We must get better at connecting the great ideas to the great company builders. The National Advisory Council will help the administration develop a broader strategy to spur innovation and enable entrepreneurs to develop breakthrough technologies and dynamic companies, and to create jobs all across America.I want to extend my gratitude to the leaders selected to The National Advisory Council. Their work will be a key component of America’s economic recovery.”

On an early Sunday morning (the morning of 23rd May 2010), when every sensible human being is supposed to be snuggled in bed and fast sleep, many industrious souls of Bangalore gathered with uncontained excitement for an event that took the metropolitan by storm. The City’s reputed Sunfeast World 10K Marathon kicked off this year with even more gusto than was anticipated. The only one of its kind in Bangalore, this year the marathon had over 18 000 participants who ran in the event.

Starting from the famed Canteerva stadium and winding through the most beautiful streets of the city, the race was a traffic-stopping thrill that left many Bangloreans wishing for more.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation also took part in the race. We made up some of those industrious souls, running through the Indian summer in our Aksahay Patra T-shirts, waving our banners with merry determination and unfailing team spirit.

“Food for Education!!” we cheered.

While most of the team took part in the 5.7 km ‘Majja’ Run however, one brave member of our staff, Saumya, ran the ‘Open 10K’ race. Inspired by the strength of the people around him, he completed the entire 10 km.

“There was one point when it was really difficult to continue, I thought I would give up. But you know what happened? A total stranger came up to me and said ‘keep running, don’t give up on the cause’. After I heard that, I couldn’t stop. He overtook me, that’s another thing…”

‘Keep running, don’t give up on the cause’

With such simple words the stranger captured the sprit of our donors and well-wishers. They have supported us through our most difficult times and encouraged us to keep running. We dedicate this article to all the thousands of people who have stood by us through the years.

It is YOUR hard work and strength that has helped 1.2 million children across India. It is YOU who have made us what we are today. And for that, we thank you.

 The Blue Bus …the only one of its kind vehicle with which people identifies The Akshaya Patra Foundation. The Blue bus travels to 7,110 schools and helps us reach out to 11, 98,206 children across India with the hot, nutritious and tasty food inside. It is the bus of hope for the million of hungry children who are even denied of their basic needs otherwise.

The Bus is an integral part of the success story of Akshaya Patra school meal program today. The vehicle is heat insulated to ensure that the food remains hot when it is delivered to the schools. Each vehicle can cater to about 3,000 to 5,000 children. Cooked food is packed into stainless steel containers and loaded into these custom- built vehicles, which have racks to store the containers in an orderly manner.

Using a fleet of vehicles, food is transported to the schools within a 50 km radius of the kitchen. Security personnel escort each vehicle to ensure safe delivery of meals to the schools. The vehicles drop off the meals in the schools (about 20 to 25 schools per vehicle) and on their return trip pick up empty containers. The mapping of the schools to the vehicles has also been done efficiently so that food is delivered on time, six days of the week, without fail. The Blue Bus takes equal care in serving the food as our mother does at home.

We dream of the day when this Blue Bus reaches each and every hungry child in every corner of our country.

Excerpts from an interview with Mr. V. Gopalratnam, VP IT and CIO Cisco India regarding Cisco’s association with Akshaya Patra.

Mr. V. Gopalratnam heads the Civic Council at Cisco India and it is under his leadership that the Cisco India community is working on social initiatives focused on strengthening communities and having a positive impact on them.

Q) How has CISCO involved/associated with Akshayapatra?

A) Cisco partners with Akshaypatra for the Global Hunger Relief campaign. The Global Hunger Relief campaign was launched in 2001 by Cisco globally. Every year since then, Cisco has united to provide donations to the world’s bes hunger relief organisations. In India, our exclusive partner is Akshaypatra. Our focus is on the Feted a Child program for government school children – run by Akshaypatra. We raise funds for them so they can continue their Mid Day Meals feeding program in government schools across Karnataka.

In this way, Cisco is indirectly having a positive impact on children’s education – as this program acts as a great incentive for under-privileged kids to attend school.

In Cisco, the Global Hunger relief campaign runs every year in months of November and December – globally, where employees and teams are encouraged to contribute toward charity. Each employee contribution is matched by Cisco Foundation as well as the John Morgridge Foundation (John Morgridge is Cisco’s Chairman of the Board Emeritus) – affectively tripling the amount of money that is contributed to the chosen charities.

Q) How long has been the association?

A) Cisco’s association with Akshaypatra has been consistent for 3 yrs, since 2007.

In the first year, Cisco employees contributed enough funds to feed 10,000 children in government schools for an entire year, in the second year we contributed toward feeding 20,000 school children and for the current year we are being able to feed 30,000 school children through Akshaypatra’s Mid Day Meals program.

Q) What kind of funding has been provided by CISCO to the organisation? As in, has CISCO helped with providing transportation/ machinery etc to the institution?

A) In 2007/08, Cisco employees contributed enough funds to feed 10,000 children in government schools for an entire year, in 2008/09 we contributed toward feeding 20,000 school children and for the current year we are being able to feed 30,000 school children through Akshaypatra’s Mid Day Meals program. Cisco’s efforts with Akshaypatra is focused on sponsoring the Feed a Child program also known as the Mid Day Meals program in government schools. In some cases, the government schools that we want to sponsor are actually identified by Cisco, but the bulk of the schools are Akshaypatra associated.

Q) What kind of programmes has CISCO and Akshayapatra jointly executed for the children?

A) Our focus is on the Feed a Child program for government school children – run by Akshaypatra, also known as the Mid Day Meals Program.

We also involve Akshaypatra in our own efforts – led by Cisco volunteers. Last year our volunteers identified 6 schools around the Cisco campus area, here in Bangalore. We conducted summer camps in these government schools, teaching basic hygiene and health related subjects. We provided mid day meals during the summer vacations when the schools were not in session – and this was done in association with Akshaypatra.

This year we will also feed school kids in government schools based in Raichur district, which is the area affected by devastating floods – in association with Akshaypatra. At this point, this project –

The scorching summer has taken its toll in North India and school vacation is a welcome relief for many students. But for a large number of children, summer vacation means hard work at the local construction site to earn a little extra income.

This year, such underprivileged children have been given a ray of hope.

The State Government of Uttar Pradesh, happy with The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s service, has requested we continue the mid-day meal program during school vacations.

So even after the 15th of May, when all the schools close, we will be giving meals to the children on time.

We are happy and proud to provide these children with much needed nutrition.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is the largest NGO in the world to implement the mid-day meal program. Behind this simple statement lies a decade of hard work and selfless dedication of all the people that make up the Akshaya Patra family.

Missionaries are an important part of that family. They work tirelessly everyday to ensure that the food reaching out to the children is both nutritious and hygienic. They ensure that the day to day operations of the kitchens follow strict regulations and principles.

Often it is the missionaries who make the innovations and changes that are implemented in many of the kitchens. They work hard to maintain the smooth flow of the operations and put together the improvements required to make our kitchens the best in India.

Shri Yudhishtira Krishna Dasa, the Location Head of Bellary, embodies the spirit of the missionaries when he says “I want to reach out to more children so that we bring a smile to each child. This will give the ultimate satisfaction. This program will give children an opportunity to serve the country better and they will definitely give in a much better way.”

Rajasthan, the nation’s largest state, has long been considered one of India’s brightest jewels. Adorned with a rich, vibrant cultural history and beautiful landscape, it is one of the most favored tourist destinations of the country. With parts of the Indus Valley Civilization located in Rajasthan, it is considered the cradle of India’s birth.

However, Rajasthan’s glorious past is in stark contrast to the reality it faces today. The state is continually hit with severe drought that cripples the thousands of people in the region who survive on agriculture. In fact, in the last 100 years, it has been hit with 84 droughts.

This year again, the Government of Rajasthan has declared ‘Akal’ or drought in the Nathdwara district of the state. In October of 2002 when it last faced such a situation, nearly 40 million people were affected and 50 million livestock suffered. With so many severe situations constantly recurring, the State Government of Rajasthan has taken various steps to bring relief to the area. It is working with the United Nations Development Program to strengthen its co-ordination systems and revive traditional water harvesting structures. Many other organizations are also involved in Rajasthan’s efforts to combat the problems being faced.

Akshaya Patra is one such organization. On the request of the State Government of Rajasthan, our kitchen in Nathdwara is now functioning around the year to provide food for drought-affected children in the area. By doing so, we hope to bring relief and provide any help we can to the beautiful and charming people of Rajasthan.

Source: United Nations Development Program

“I came across this non profit organization around a year back during our regular visits to Vrindavan. We saw this beautiful temple complex before entering the main city of Vrindavan. We visited here to have darshans. It is a large complex which is maintained very well and has one of the most beautiful deities of Radha Krishna.

After we had darshans, we were taken for a kitchen tour by Shri Vishnubhakt ji, who is a young MBA and has devoted himself. Akshay Patra is run by ISKCON, Bangalore. Mr. Madhu Pandit Dass is the chairman of this organization. Akshay Patra is providing the food to poor children as mid day meal scheme. This activity is being run in various states and has helped in getting back the school drop outs.

We saw the automated German plant for cooking food on large scale. First you come across the kneading machine, which prepares the dough for chapattis. There is no touching of hand during cooking process, so a very high level of hygiene is maintained throughout the process.

After the dough is made, chunk goes to rolling pin for pressing to make it flat evenly. After that it is cut in circular shape and left over goes back to dough bin. Now these chappatis pass over the flames for cooking and is turned automatically to cook other side. A good even shape freshly cooked chapattis are collected in steel drums.

On the other elevated platform, Dal, Subzi, Kicchadi, Rice or Kheer is cooked in large vessels by steam process. These are nicely collected in steel drums with lids and are transferred to vans, jeeps or buses depending upon quantity and destination.

Entire Mathura district is covered from this kitchen, providing meals to number of schools. Kitchen starts in night at around 12 am and if you are staying there can see the early morning movements of vehicles carrying food to far off schools.

The Foundation has one of the best kitchens infrastructures in the world to ensure quality and cost reduction. It has been implementing science and technology to the highest possible extent to improve its operations,

The menu that served to the children is indeed based on scientific research of nutritional experts. It is prescribed by the experts after rigorous research regarding the best nutritional combination for a child’s overall development.

The highly sophisticated kitchens are one of its kind, which are capable of cooking up to 2, 50,000 meals at a time. This ensures high level of cost reduction as well as maintains the quality and hygiene of the food. The centralized kitchens cook more than a lakh meal in less than 5 hours with least human intervention and high quality.

The distribution is one of the best. The food is transferred to thousands of schools in a systematic and well planned manner. The vehicles carrying the food are custom build vehicles build by advanced technology to retain the heat in the food. The distribution system of Akshaya Patra is indeed a science which has been a matter of study for various premier management institutions.

The organization maintains accounts electronically and also maintains websites to educate and inform the people about its mission. It has a strong IT team as well which ensures that the Foundation is always well connected to its well wishers.

Akshay Patra, Vrindavan is headed by Narsimha Prabhu an engineering graduate and very knowledgeable gentleman. It is an experience to attend his Bhagvad Gita lecture on Sunday morning.

Akshay Patra has its own guest house, where any one can go and stay on paid basis. The guest house has family suite, A/c rooms, Air-cool rooms and dormitory facility. It has its own restaurant in temple complex.

One can contribute by donations or by sponsoring the children. The donors are given the benefits of staying at their guest houses for fixed number of days every year till the membership expiry. Once in year a special puja is also done in member’s name.

On subsequent visits to this place, we became attached and now if our visit gap becomes 2 month or more, we feel uncomfortable and feel that we are missing something in life. Its an experience to visit this place.”

Article by: Mr.Alok K

Source: http://www.mouthshut.com/diary/ehjcupmum/AKSHAY-PATRA\

Spread across 3 acres, the Hubli kitchen is one of the most innovative and technologically advanced of all the Akshaya Patra kitchens. It is ISO 22000 certified and follows all the norms and standards set by the International Organization for Standardization. Often acting as a research and development centre, it has given rise to many of the latest features and developments in our kitchens. It was the first facility to engineer the Gravity Flow Mechanism and has continually expanded its efforts to adopt more eco-friendly methods of operation. Not only does it have a Rainwater Harvesting Plant but also an Effluent Treatment Plant.

Effluent Treatment Plant

The first of its kind in Akshaya Patra, this is one of the ‘go green’ initiatives adopted by the kitchen. Waste water from the kitchen is collected and treated using an algae bio-culture. No chemicals are used. This recycled water is then reused for 2 purposes: cleaning vehicles and gardening.

Rain-water Harvesting Plant

Also a ‘green’ initiative, this is used to replenish the borehole that acts as a main water supply to the kitchen. Rain water from the entire campus is directed to a small pool that has been dug out. This pool stores water and acts as a reservoir for the borehole.

Future Plans

Authorities of the Hubli kitchen are now planning yet another initiative. They are in discussion with external agencies and experts on implementing a system to utilize solar energy. Their biggest challenge is storing a large quantity of solar energy, since the kitchen begins functioning at 3:00 am, when there is no sunlight.

They are also planning on installing a system which could create electricity using biological waste from the kitchen. With their interest and involvement in protecting our depleting natural resources, the Hubli kitchen is own its way to being known as a ‘Green Kitchen’.