General

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was founded on October 16, 1945 and to honour this day World Food Day is observed every year around the world.

Every year a theme is set to celebrate the day, and the World Food Day theme for 2013 is “Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition.”

Most of the themes are concerned with agriculture and encouragement to invest in education and health because the improvement of these three areas will result in the overall development of the country.

India is in a state of urgency to eradicate hunger, poverty and illiteracy. Proving food to children as an incentive to enroll and attend school poses as a solution for all three of these issues plaguing our country. When children receive wholesome, tasty meals in school they will not have to resort to child labour to earn money for food. They stay in school, and a satiated appetite allows them to focus on their academics and eventually complete school and be prepared for mainstream society.

Since its inception in 2000, the Akshaya Patra Foundation has strived to improve the state of food security and literacy for children in the country. The organization provides mid-day meals to over 1.3 million children in India every day. The food prepared in its centralized and decentralized kitchen is delivered to 1,0050 schools in nine states.

This programme aims at not only eradicating hunger and illiteracy but also significantly improving child nutrition. According to the Global Hunger Index, in India 43.5 per cent of children under the age of five are underweight. Akshaya Patra ensures the use of healthy ingredients in the mid-day meals that satisfy all the dietary requirements for growing children.

It is our collective responsibility to do all we can to ensure that education and food is readily available to all children of India. It is our duty as more fortunate citizens of society to help those who rely on us. Together we can build a better India.  Donate today!

Everyday we play many roles and our roles differ from situation to situation. Broadly we can divide our roles in two categories- personal and professional. On professional front we mostly play a specific role. But, what’s interesting is, in the personal category we unknowingly play multiple roles. At this point, just let your thoughts take a diversion towards a quick question- God forbid, but would I have been able to carry out all my activities with ease if I was deprived of my sight, or for that matter any other physical element? Indeed, it’s a thought evoking question. But the purpose behind this question was primarily to introduce A.D Shantha Kumari- an amazing person and inspiration for all.

It’s lunch time at the Government Higher Primary School Mahalakshmipuram, Bangalore. A few children surround Shantha Kumari and inform her that “Pulao” is on the menu for the mid-day meal.  Shilpa S, a grade 7 student, helps the music teacher wash hands and brings a tiffin box filled with Pulao. Shilpa says, “She is our favourite teacher. We all love the patriotic song she teaches us.” To this, Shantha says, “Children enjoy the patriotic song because these kinds of songs infuse great energy among them.”

Shantha Kumari is a favourite teacher; a good cook; a music lover; and a caring mother and wife. She is able to quickly adapt to these roles one after another with ease. While many of these roles are often shouldered by other working women too, what makes Shantha stand out is the fact that she takes on these roles in spite of being visually impaired. The teacher, who has over three decades of experience, is known for her dedication and enthusiasm.

A quick flashback about how her life took the path of music:

Being visually impaired, as a child she attended the Deaf and Blind school in the city of Mysore,Karnataka.  Her parents who were captivated by her melodious voice encouraged her to study music.  After passing her seniors in classical music, she applied for a job and soon enough she was recruited as a teacher. At the age of eighteen, she began her career as a music teacher in a school in Kapu, a small town in the coastal district of Karnataka. She used to teach for 36 hours a week for children from grade 3 to grade 7. She says, “I enjoy teaching because for me music is a way of life. It connects me to people in a manner which cannot be expressed.” Shantha went on to teach at various schools in Bangalore and Mysore.

The mother of two says, “My children love my cooking. They say I make ‘upma’ and ‘roti’ really well. Shantha’s daughter has completed her engineering and is working for a multi-national company, while her son is studying in grade 12. Recounting how she spends the day, she says with a smile, “I even watch TV; I listen to the music shows, cookery shows and a few sit-coms.” It’s a story of inspiration indeed and alongside a story of determination too.

Currently, working in a school where Akshaya Patra serves mid-day meals to the students, she says,” Akshaya Patra’s mid-day meal programme has had a positive impact on attendance. Earlier many children would faint in the class because they would come to school hungry, now though such instances have reduced, if children do faint, we give such children the mid-day meal even before its lunch time.”

Soon, the school bell rings, signifying the end of the lunch hour. The children have enjoyed eating the mid-day meal, and are back to their respective classes. The seventh graders excitedly assemble in the class awaiting their music teacher. After enjoying a brief chat with the students, Shantha instructs the class to repeat the line she sings. Within moments Shantha and the children are engrossed in a world where music is the only language that can be seen, heard and felt.

The chugging of the mill by the yard,

Have no ears of expectation and heed.

The toots and tweets of the mobile jungle

Could raise no alarm indeed.

When the clock keeps counting

Hunger in the midst surmounting

But hope in fix support the earnest–

A day to change for the best.

The heartbeats are almost palpable

For anyone to stick a label.

The eyes of unblemished faith gleam–

A few smiles settle the aura

What shall come is not a story,

But a promise that stays and lives

Feeds the tender minds and sinews

To face each day renewed.

It takes turns and burns the miles

Loaded with sundry reasons to smile.

The numbed clang of steels inside,

With fresh meals invite all visitors young.

It changes lane and appears on the vanes,

The colour azure stands apart,

The marks and symbols are signs of scheme

That would change a child’s dream.

That little blue bus hopping on the pebbles

Has arrived to feed the little folks.

Every day is marked a good day–

With smiles and giggles of innocence,

Echo rebound the compound wall.

The sight is a worthy scene to reveal

How little can have so much weight

Enough to drive us further ahead.

It is not just a meal a day.

Grains add fuel to aspirations

Soup that nourish the souls and spirits

The blue bus does bring light and delight.

Children sing ode and praises after,

Renewed strength and vigour run their moods

They know a brighter day lies in wait

A day of new lessons and visions.

The blue bus of hope and promise ply–

A trend of an unbroken tread each day

Many dreams need a fresh morning

Many wishes need to be true

Many miles on their little legs

Many songs to sing along

Many lessons to learn, books to read

For a better, brighter tomorrow to come.

Twenty-three young students in the Indian state of Bihar died in July after eating a midday school lunch cooked with oil contaminated by pesticides. As a father of young children, I was deeply saddened by this tragic and easily preventable event. But through this heartbreaking incident I was reminded of my experience witnessing the  work of organizations such as Akshaya Patra that contribute to feeding India’s children.

In the last decade, India has experienced economic growth, but the majority of its population continues to face chronic food insecurity. According to UNICEF, one-third of the world’s malnourished children live in India.

In an effort to address this issue, India’s Supreme Court in 2001 directed all primary schools across the country to provide a free lunch to students. Instantly, the Midday Meal campaign became the largest school lunch program in the world, feeding more than 120 million children.

Just a year earlier, a group of Bangalore-based International Society of Krishna Consciousness, or ISKCON, monks had started a small pilot project to address the number of children in their state who were not attending school because they were forced by their parents to labor in the fields or on the streets.

Many of the children who did attend school rarely ate breakfast and could not concentrate because of hunger. The monks felt that if they offered a free meal to children who attended school they could have a double impact: get children to school for an education, and provide one substantial meal each school day.

The monks looked to the Sanskrit epic, the Mahabarat, for the inspiration for the foundation’s name. One of the central characters, Bhima, the second eldest brother of the five Pandava brothers, was known as a brave and vengeful warrior. Being a man of vast size and strength, he had a voracious appetite. Consequently, he was allotted half the family’s food, with the rest going to his four brothers. The five Pandava brothers shared a wife, Draupadi, who was responsible for feeding the family. To assist her in this mammoth task, Draupadi was given a cooking vessel that provided a never-ending supply of food. This pot was called the Akshaya Patra.

That group of monks had some ambitious foresight in selecting the name for the foundation, as each day Akshaya Patra now prepares 1.3 million fresh and healthy meals for schoolchildren in nine Indian states.

In India, tastes vary, so school meals do too

Having lived in India for four years, I was eager to see how one of Akshaya Patra’s 16 centralized kitchens operated. In spring 2010, I traveled to the eastern coastal town of Puri, in the state of Orissa. In the shadow of the famous Jagganath temple, I met with the kitchen manager Deelip at the kitchen set up to facilitate the preparation of the lunch meals. Deelip explained that to meet the demands of cooking such vast quantities of food in a hygienic manner, a kitchen staff of 30 starts at 2:30 a.m. to process 8,800 pounds of rice, 2,400 pounds of arhar dal and 8,800 pounds of mixed vegetables. By 6 a.m. all the food has been portioned into large, stainless-steel containers and waits on the back of delivery trucks for the journey to the 50,000 children at village schools.

Akshaya Patra realized early on that it would not be a good idea to impose unfamiliar flavors on children. Thus, the weekly rotating vegetarian menus consider regional taste differences and look to local markets for seasonal ingredients. For example, in the wheat belt of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, the kitchen in Vrindavan operates a roti-making machine that can make 40,000 chapatis in one hour. By contrast, in the southern state of Karnataka, the menus regularly include rice, sambhar and curd.

In a recent conversation CP Das, vice chairman of the Akshaya Patra foundation, said that as the foundation has grown it has continued to focus on three key quality dimensions where food safety is the No. 1 priority, and the nutritional and flavor aspects of the food are close behind.

The foundation also operates a few small decentralized kitchens in rural areas under similar conditions as the one at the school in Bihar. However, they have been able to overcome the rustic settings by addressing basic operational logistics, such as access to clean water, hygienic conditions in which to prepare and store the food, and the presence of trained monitors to help prevent corruption and contamination. Das clarified that Akshaya Patra is currently training more than 200 women who operate decentralized government school kitchens in rural Bihar.

Despite its success, there have been critics that state it is illegal for Akshaya Patra and ISKCON-Bangalore to collect donations in India and abroad while at the same time receiving money from state and national governments for the midday meal program. Its critics further claim some of the monies have been used for real estate investments and to make board trustees wealthy. Das denies the charges and highlights a 2010 report by the House Committee of the Karnatakan Legislative Assembly that indicates the foundation did not misuse any government funds and there is nothing wrong in collecting donations to maintain high food-quality standards. He explains the government funding covers 60 percent of its operational costs and they rely on donations to cover the remainder.

Das is particularly proud that in areas where Akshaya Patra operates, a noticeable increase in attendance, particularly of girls, has occurred. But he knows Akshaya Patra can do more.  The foundation’s hope is that more state governments will invite them to set up kitchens to fulfill their mandate that no child should be deprived of an education because of hunger.

Zester Daily contributor Cameron Stauch is a Canadian chef living in Hanoi, Vietnam. In Canada, he cooks for the Governor General of Canada..

Akshaya Patra – Unlimited Food For Education

It was 6 o’clock in the morning on a warm, beautiful day when I was whisked off to Hare Krishna Hill in Bangalore, India. In the distance the silhouette of the ISKON temple was distinctly outlined against the morning sky. After a short drive up the hill, we arrived at a collection of large buildings with the aromatic smell of food drifting in the air. I am Shubha Jagannath, 14 years of age, born and brought up in San Jose, California. I came to HK Hill to visit the renowned Akshaya Patra Foundation, a massive force that feeds 1.3 million needy children across India every day. I had heard about this organisation through my family and was intrigued about how they accomplish this herculean task so efficiently. I got the wonderful opportunity to visit the kitchen from a relative and couldn’t wait to see how they carried out such a massive operation.

The Kitchen

Soon as I entered the kitchen I was surrounded by an amazing sight. Sparkling metal containers were filled to the brim with steaming Bisi Bele Bhaat and vegetables. Men in bright blue hair nets tirelessly ran around adding vegetables and stirring the food. We were introduced to Mr Kunjabihari who offered to show us around. Astounding 1 lakh children are fed daily from that single kitchen. The employees were working from midnight to complete the task of cooking and delivering food in time for so many schools while the rest of us were asleep. The dedication and work-ethic of those who are working in the kitchen is really inspiring.

As Mr. Kunjabihari continued to show us around, we found that the kitchen was not only a place with marvelous people, but also a place with many technological marvels. Innovations were made to make the food faster and more hygienic. Roti making machines, vegetable cutters powered by BMW motors, and steam-powered cooking were a few of the many amazing equipment there. The kitchen was in the most hygienic condition possible. Workers constantly cleaned the containers and Mr. Kunjabihari later told us that until this day they haven’t gotten even a single complaint about a hair in the food! This is quite fantastic for a problem that occurs so often in our own kitchens. The quality of the food was another wonder. Mr. Kunjabihari explained how each ingredient was thoroughly tested before being used in the meal, and how each food sample was also tested to insure that harmful materials are absent.

As it got closer to delivery time, the mouth-watering Bisi Bele Bhaat and sweet were packed into sterilized steamed containers and loaded in the colourful Akshaya Patra vans. The vans are equipped with gadgets like tracking devices and sensors to ensure that the doors are closed properly and so that the food reaches the schools safely. And after being loaded, the vans swiftly drove off to deliver to the eagerly waiting children.

(To know about Shubha’s school visit, click here)

An Article In Times Of India says that India is expected to miss the crucial UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG), including those related to reduction in poverty, hunger and infant mortality, according to a government report. It indicates-

• While India is expected to lag behind on health indicators, the performance is up to the mark on education front.
• It is expected to meet the target to ensure that by 2015 children everywhere, boys and girls alike will be able to complete a full course of primary education.
• “Achieving universal primary education is round the corner,” the report said.
• The data shows that the country is well set to achieve 100% primary education for children ahead of 2015.
• “Gender parity has already been achieved in primary education (in 2007-08 itself) and the disparity in secondary education is set to disappear by 2015,” the report noted.

As for education these are really very motivating and pleasing facts. If  we are on the right track as far as education is concerned all other stations can be reached sooner or later. It instils hope as value of education is well recognized. Advantages of education are not hidden from any one. Be it individual growth or the growth of the society and nation. At the same time it is the single answer to so many socio economic problems. Be it… malnutrition, illiteracy, child labour, preventable diseases, abuse & exploitation, unemployment, social evils or hazard to environment. Here we can rightly quote Mr Nelson Mandela who said that “Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.”

Government has done their part in setting the basic framework of education by opening schools, making education free and by doing other related arrangements. Many awareness programmes through different channels of communication have been run.

Akshaya Patra is contributing in this direction by promoting education by feeding the school children. Akshaya Patra is the world’s largest NGO running mid–day meal programme providing hot and nutritious meal to school children. By providing food Akshaya Patra is attracting children to come to school and also reducing the dropout rate from school. Akshaya Patra’s single meal becomes an incentive for these children and contributes in increasing the attendance. Here the role of Akshaya Patra is very crucial as to make use of the education facilities provided by various government and non government organizations.

Akshaya Patra started their operation by feeding 1500 children in five schools of Bangalore now it has scaled up to 1.3 million children through 19 centres across 9 states of India. This is done through centralized and decentralized model of kitchens. Through centralized kitchen it feeds the children of urban and semi urban areas on the other hand decentralized kitchen is meant for the interior areas which have difficult terrain. Endeavour of Akshaya Patra enables the education to reach many and to the far flung areas.

Gullu, a child from tribal area  of Orissa got attracted to school just because of food. Now he walks five miles per day and attends the school. There are many such stories where parents allowed their children to join school because of Akshaya Patra’s mid day meal.

All this good work has been possible with the collective effort of many. Let this continue and with more vigour so that Akshaya Patra can feed many more children  and support in building the future of India.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/India-to-miss-UN-goals-for-poverty

Currently functioning in 19 locations across 9 states, it provides food to 1.3 million children on all school working days. This programme has bought visible improvements in the health of the children. Below are a few instances of the impact Akshaya Patra’s mid-day meal programme had on the children:

• Principal of Government Higher Primary School Mangalore, Juliet Pinto states that “During health camps that are conducted thrice a year, the health supervisor found all the children to be healthy except general flu and common cold.”
• A teacher in a small village school of Bukkasagara (Bellary) says, “Many of my students hail from families of quarry workers. The health of the children has tremendously improved after regular food was being provided by Akshaya Patra.”
• Assistant Head Mistress of Government Higher Primary School- Ashokapuram (Mysore), Geetha Lobo says, “Prior to Akshaya Patra’s intervention through the mid-day meal programme, some children used to faint from hunger, but that’s no longer the case. The strength of the school has improved since food started being served here. Now, they attend classes regularly and concentrate better during lessons”.
• School in-charge of Rehmani Model Senior Secondary School Jaipur, Nazia Tazeem says, “The health of the children was a major concern. Today the mid-day meal in the school provided by Akshaya Patra has a positive impact on the children’s health. The mid-day meal has helped reduce drop-out rate and increase attendance and enrolment among girls.”
• Madhusudhan Mahapatra oversees Akshaya Patra’s de-centralized kitchens in Nayagarh, Odisha. He says, “In a state where nearly 46.8% of the population lives below the poverty line (Orissa has one of the highest figures for child mortality in the country)**, with high rates of child malnutrition, the fact that their children will get good food proves to be a strong catalyst for parents to send them to school. There has been an improvement in enrolment and attendance since the time Akshaya Patra started implementing the mid-day meal programme in the schools.”

**Food Security Atlas of Rural Orissa, 2008, a report by the UN World Food Program and the Institute for Human Development, New Delhi

*Source: Times of India-

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-01-02/india/36110624_1_mortality-rate-infant-mortality-poverty-ratio

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is rooted in a story of compassion. Gazing outside of a window one day in a village near Calcutta, A.C. Bhaktidevanta Swami Prabhupada witnessed a group of young children fighting with street dogs over food. This heartbreaking incident engendered a determination that would forever impact the world. Swami Prabhupada’s beliefs went against the passivity and moral turpitude that pervaded India during that time as he took an active stance in feeding India’s children by founding the Akshaya Patra Foudation. The volunteers, staff, and management of the Akshaya Patra foundation work tirelessly to fulfill this vision and embody single-mindedness and passion in serving the core belief of the foundation: “No child within a radius of ten miles from an Akshaya Patra kitchen should go hungry.”

The heart of the foundation, which boasts of 19 centralized kitchens across nine states in India, lies in the beautiful city of Bangalore. Born and raised in the United States, I came face to face with the true spirit of India when I set foot in the boundaries of the Akshaya Patra Vaikuntha Hill kitchen, one of the two kitchens in Bangalore. I had the pleasure of speaking with different levels of staff and management to learn about what it takes to provide food to over 600 schools.

I interviewed Mr. Muthuprasanna, a human resources representative at the Akshaya Patra Vaikuntha Hill kitchen, to gain a clear picture of how the kitchen functions to meet its goals:

Question: What is the most satisfying aspect of your job?
Answer: Working for a cause that is oriented towards development. There are a group of people whose intention is working for a mission from the ground level up. We all align together for a common goal and the single-mindedness of making children smile is the most satisfying thing in our day.

Question: What is the most challenging part of your job?
Answer: Educating the employees. Many come from a rural and less-educated background and training employees to meet safety standards is time-consuming but rewarding. We go out of our way to ensure that all levels of staff feel part of the family by offering a spoken English class and computer course within the foundation’s boundaries. They have not gained such opportunities in their villages, and many staff workers report that working with the foundation is incredibly fulfilling.

Question: What is the organization’s ultimate goal?
Answer: To ensure that no child in India is deprived of education because of hunger. I personally see Akshaya Patra as a means for children to rise up and involve in society. These children will eventually build our nation’s economy and are our future.

Question: What makes the kitchen run so efficiently?
Answer: Our employees are extremely passionate about working. Delivering meals to feed children as they run to the Akshaya Patra vans offers happiness to both the workers and the children they feed.

Question: How does your department, human resources, play a role in the kitchen?
Answer: Human resources department recruits people from villages around Bangalore area, trains them, and makes sure that all standards and regulations are met. The foundation continuously engages its staff with get-togethers, birthday celebrations, and other events that make the foundation come together and spend some good time with each other. The Vaikuntha Hill kitchen has succeeded in covering 600 schools, ensuring that virtually every school-going child in this area can study and explore his or her individual interests without the burden of hunger.

Question: Is Akshaya Patra’s role limited to serving meals?
Answer: The foundation expands to teaching life skills to the schoolchildren. It offers motivational exercises and encourages children to pursue their individual talents and overcome poverty.

Question: What makes the Vaikuntha Hill kitchen unique?
Answer: This is the first modern kitchen, or second-generation kitchen, in the entire nation that employs highly mechanized technologies. We have implemented highly-specialized manufacturing processes and biogas fuelling. This basically means that the waste of the kitchen is in turn used to power our cooking apparatuses. This makes sure that nothing is wasted. He went on to speak about India’s development in terms of the foundation.

Question: What is working with Arun Kumar like?
Answer: He is a young leader and takes care of everyone by ensuring quality control, overseeing operations, and performing the role of an ambassador for the group. He is an incredibly balanced and effective leader. He connects with everyone, from the kitchen floor staff to his direct staff and executives. He connects with each of them individually.

Question: What is Akshaya Patra’s role in government schools?
Answer: Government schools primarily educate children belonging to the labour class, who are below poverty line. By having a midday meal, they are able to enjoy hearty nutrition and are able to concentrate on their education and other physical activities. It is a profound benefit to the nation and to the world.

Question: What are Akshaya Patra’s goals for the future? Are they realistic?
Answer: Our mission is to serve 5 million school children by 2020, and this is absolutely realistic. Many organizations in the private and public sector are pitching in to meet our goal, as is evident from the new kitchens that are opening up in U.P. and Rajasthan. Requests pour in from different states in India like Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, to start new kitchens. I am certain that the joint efforts of our government and private sector will allow us to meet our goal.

Question: What is your family’s attitude towards your work with Akshaya Patra?
Answer: My family is proud of the work I do with the organisation. They enjoy participating in Akshaya Patra, and believe that we are directly part of developing our country in education. Nothing is more fulfilling than the work I do with the organization.

I was curious as to how such a productive kitchen was managed and kept at optimum efficiency. Mr. Arun Kumar, the manager of the Vaikuntha Hil kitchen, told me his story as well as how he handles the challenging task of managing the kitchen:

Question: What is the most rewarding part of working with Akshaya Patra?
Answer: The cause is 90% of the reasons that make me come to work every day. While I was in school, I was very curious about serving food with Akshaya Patra. I learned more from Akshaya Patra than my studies. First, I started coming twice a month and eventually, once a week. I came here to serve children. After completing my degree, I came to work here. This is the fourth year of my journey, and I love coming here every day because I see the happy faces of the children we feed.

Question: How does the Akshaya Patra Vaikuntha Hill kitchen function as a family?
Answer: They are devoted to our cause. We don’t treat them as employees, but as friends. I don’t sit from my office and tell them things to do. I go out and understand the nature of the work, and then help them meet their directive. One to one interaction is very important. Our staff feels comfortable in communicating with management. We motivate them with weekly meetings and employee engagements every month that helps them relax and find enjoyment. The daily gitas and bhajans we sing contribute to their positivity. As most workers come from a poor background, we go out of our way to provide a good facility for them to stay, a good meal for them to eat, and a comfortable working environment. We have fulfilled these needs.

Question: Who pays for Akshaya Patra meals?
Answer: The government subsidy only covers 60% of the meal cost. We need corporate funding to cover the remaining 40% as well as additional funding for maintenance, employees and food vans.

Question: How stable are donations?
Answer: Donations depend on the economic cycle. Businesses that do well donate, but in poor economic times, we bear the burden of funding on our own.

Question: Is Akshaya Patra a year round effort?
Answer: Leaving Sundays and government holidays, we always have to cook and feed all 600 schools.

Question: Though Akshaya Patra finds its roots in ISKCON, is it true that it is a secular organization?
Answer: Akshaya Patra does not discriminate based on religion, and we have employees from all religious backgrounds. Here at Akshaya Patra, we have a strictly secular policy. Donors from all walks of life contribute to the cause. Akshaya Patra has broken all barriers of social inequity that have existed in schools. Social barriers were playing a major role in government schools, but now there are none. That is the reason we insist on employing the uniform in all schools. School is the right place for raising such issues as social equality. Social groups in schools no longer reflect socioeconomic classes.

Finally, I interviewed Mr. Vinay Kumar, the general manager of the foundation’s kitchen operations:

Question: What is the motivating factor behind your work with Akshaya Patra?
Answer: The fact that we are doing something for the future of India.

Question: How did you get started with Akshaya Patra?
Answer: I was working as a chartered accountant in some companies, and then moved from company to company. Eventually, I moved joined Akshaya Patra’s IT department to manage accounts and material accounting. I joined it to implement an IT department and then took on a new role in operations. Today marks my fifth year working with Akshaya Patra.

Question: What do you see in Akshaya Patra’s future?
Answer: More children, more kitchens, and elimination of malnutrition. We serve 1.5 million kids and we hope the economic status of the country improves. If there is no dropout because of hunger, we will say we have done our job.

Question: Do you feel as if the job is done?
Answer: Why, we have just begun-we need to see where the need is. We need to find rural areas, and see the beneficiaries getting into working life and eventually contribute as donors or employees. They benefitted from the program, and I am sure they would have the heart to give back.

Question: Has the dropout rate decreased?
Answer: A consulting international surveying organization has recorded a significant decrease of dropout rates and increase in attendance. We cannot accredit this statistical change completely to Akshaya Patra, but a large majority is due to the organisation’s work.

Question: Are Akshaya Patra and ISKCON two different entities?
Answer: Yes. They have registered as two different organisations. Akshaya Patra is a public program. This is truly a secular organisation. We feed convents and schools of all other religious denominations as well.

Question: What are the future plans of Akshaya Patra?
Answer: We plan to focus more on improving further, the quality of meals by using optimised resources available to us.

Question: Is Akshaya Patra known as a national initiative?
Answer: We expect the public in general to recognise Akshaya Patra as a national initiative. We grew from a small organization to a state organization to a national initiative. We need this to be looked at by the public as a revolution, the gap between the rich and poor needs to shorten. The problem of child hunger cannot persist for 50 years. We need to end child hunger.

I was amazed to see Akshaya Patra’s effect in countless schools. As I visited and helped serve food in these schools, I saw appreciation in the eyes of the students who have all been given hearty meals. These children run to the Akshaya Patra vans, which contain sambar, rice, and curds. The headmasters are always grateful to Akshaya Patra representatives who come and visit. They were more than happy to allow me the opportunity to speak to the students. Many children spoke to me about their ambitions of becoming doctors, engineers, and police inspectors. Akshaya Patra will ensure that their needs are met while they pursue these goals. If not for Akshaya Patra, most of these children would be forced into child labour to feed themselves. The Akshaya Patra Foundation will persevere, carrying unforgotten compassion to eventually ensure an end to child hunger in all of India.

More people need to recognize the tremendous good that Akshaya Patra has been able to achieve and that I have witnessed firsthand. Donating to Akshaya Patra directly facilitates the elimination of child hunger and the promotion of education, ensuring a brighter future for those students and a better world.

After discovering the Akshaya Patra Foundation through its website, I was amazed by all the organisation had accomplished and had to experience it for myself. My experience has been ethereal. I made a month-long trip to India to immerse myself in the driving force of the good that is Akshaya Patra. As I visited relatives and family friends throughout my stay, almost everyone I spoke to was familiar with the cause and recognised it as a national initiative. The family driver was especially enthusiastic about the organisation. Akshaya Patra has made a distinct impression on the students of his village allowing them to receive a quality education and healthy nourishment. As he told me the wide-reaching effects of the organisation, he manoeuvered through the circus of traffic that included cows, motorcycles oxen carts, and several tractors on our way to the Vaikuntha Hill kitchen.

Finally, we reached the scintillating gates of the foundation with its characteristic blue signs. I chatted awhile with my good friend Mr. Arun Kumar, the manager of the Vakuntha Hill kitchen, who gestured at the ardent and passionate work of the kitchen to feed the children of over 600 schools in and around Bangalore area. A fleet of Akshaya Patra vans filled with sambar, rice, and curd whizzed past us as three other Akshaya Patra volunteers offered to accompany me on my journey to some of the Government Schools. We swerved through several back roads and highways until our car lay before a massive hill with a road that rose with its slope. We followed this slope as we admired the countryside. The trees were bright and alive with the reclusion of monsoons and the sky was as blue as ever. From a distance, I could distinguish a small brightly-painted school. Before I could fully behold its reality, I could hear the laughter ringing from the top of the hill.

I heard the excitement of children and urgent, excited voices that reflected the absolute purity of youth. When we finally arrived, the headmaster greeted us and thanked us for the work Akshaya Patra Foundation had accomplished in feeding this school. From the corner of my eye, I saw the familiar stainless steel canteens of rice and sambar that feed countless children throughout India. Before I was fully aware of it, I was ushered into a classroom where healthy and enthusiastic 1st and 2nd graders strained their voices in yelling, “Good morning, sir!” As I greeted them, smiling, I could not help but reflect that this energy would not be possible without the tireless labor of the employees and staff of the Akshaya Patra Foundation. With bright eyes, they barraged me with a slew of questions: “What is your father’s name?”, “What is your mother’s name?”, “Do you know President Obama?”, “How far do you live from the White House?”, “Are you a good cricket player?”, “Do you like India?”, etc. The friendly teacher gestured urgently to a seat at the front of the class. At first, I refused out of deference, but then reluctantly accepted the kind gesture. The children told me their stories, each one more inspiring than the last. They told me the tragedies of being orphaned and the adversity of achieving dreams dreamt by those who fall under the poverty line. Many of these students told me they wanted to be doctors, engineers, and police inspectors. Many of them shared in the same fire of spirit that I pride myself in. Born with a congenital genetic disability that resulted in cosmetic flaw and profound hearing loss, I was no stranger to absolute dedication and determination to goals. I recognised this same determination and dogged tenacity in the enthusiasm of these students who were unnecessarily and prematurely burdened with the weight of life’s struggles and challenges.

I find comfort that they no longer have to carry this burden alone, and that the conglomeration of public and private efforts through Akshaya Patra Foundation ensures for them a brighter future. My perspective towards these students was not “me” and “them,” but rather “us”. I realized that we are all children and inheritors of the same world, and that every person faces their individual struggles. There is no limit to their abilities, especially because of the food that Akshaya Patra provides daily. Just as I had mastered the piano despite my hearing disability, they will master their education despite their setbacks. They will rise past the challenges they face and become the new driving force for change, as I expect that they will have the heart to contribute to the organization that has allowed them to attain their goals. My favorite part of that eye-opening volunteer experience was the games we played. Few things allow me to forget time, but the carefree spirit and happiness of the students I played with allowed me to forget all else. I became entranced by the childlike sense of wonder and amazement that had manifested itself in this school. They grabbed at my legs, grinning ear to ear and unwilling to let go. Some of the younger and more vulnerable kids outstretched their arms for me to hoist them up on my shoulders high above the world. The human race is equal, despite the differences that society, language and status insist on enforcing. The Akshaya Patra Foundation has overcome these imposed social barriers by feeding all schoolchildren in need, regardless of social status or background.

I was then led into a less dense part of the considerably cramped school grounds. It was there that my heart broke and for the first time that I cried for someone rather than myself or my own loss. It was there that seven of the world’s most helpless toddlers sat without any connection to their parents. They smiled at me, begged for my attention, tossing a ball towards my direction. I instinctively tossed it back, smiling at them. They erupted in hysterical and excited laughter and I saw happiness in their eyes. But I knew that deep inside that they were sad from within. All children deprived of love struggle to survive emotionally. Their emotions turn from neediness to sadness. But I have the power to stop this cycle of abject loneliness. A simple donation from a life of comparative comfort and ease can forever change the face of these children’s future. And then it was time for me to leave, as a fellow Akshaya Patra volunteer called out for me. I constantly think about those children and all they will have to overcome. But I know they will always be well fed and given the opportunity of education, because The Akshaya Patra Foundation will persevere, carrying unforgotten compassion to eventually ensure an end to child hunger in all of India.

To know more about Varun Singh’s experience at the kitchen, click here

Akshaya Patra is the world’s largest School lunch Programme feeding 1.3 million children daily by using technology extensively. Akshaya Patra believes in making efficient use of energy in an eco-friendly and sustainable manner to feed children at such a large scale. It not only helps in utilising resources in a cost effective manner, but also supports in creating better ecological balance.

On World Environment Day, Akshaya Patra reaffirms its pledge of practising environment friendly methods. Akshaya Patra has already adopted such methods. Kitchens at Bellary and Bangalore have replaced gas stoves with Oorja stoves which use biomass pellets as fuel. The biomass smokeless stove has a chamber for burning briquettes, a mini-fan powered by rechargeable batteries and controlled by a regulator which blows air to fan the flames. This initiative has helped in minimizing fuel cost by 50%. The stove is largely used to prepare seasoning for sambar.

LED lights have also been installed in some of the kitchens. LED (Light Emitting Diodes) are solid light bulbs which are extremely energy efficient.

Recycling of water is done to make efficient use of water using Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP). In order to address concerns of hygiene, everything that is procured is thoroughly washed. This includes rice, vegetables and lentils. The water used for washing contains nutrients and is used for bio-culture. Waste water is also used for washing vehicles used to transport the food.

Recently, with an intention to employ renewable sources of energy, Akshaya Patra has decided to install Bio Oorja. Once fully operational, the biogas plant is expected to produce about 40-50 kg of biogas and will consume about 1000 kg of waste. Akshaya Patra has opted for ‘Bio Oorja’ – a waste management technology that uses modified biogas plant to produce biogas to be used in Oorja stoves.

Support Akshaya Patra to take more such initiatives in preparing mid-day meal to feed school children.