General

“A healthy mind resides in a healthy body.” As the quote rightly mentions, a healthy body is of prime importance for everyone in today’s world. The children are the future of every nation. Hence it is extremely necessary to provide education and nutrition. The Akshaya Patra Foundation works towards providing nutrition to the school children of India. The Foundation serves mid-day meals in 9 states and more than 9000 Government schools.

To suit the local taste, different menu is set for the North and South Indian locations. Both the menus ensure that the nutritional levels are maintained adequately. The nutritious meal comprises of dal, rice, roti and yogurt. Several vegetables such as sweet pumpkin, green beans, potato, lady’s finger, tomato, carrot, drum stick, etc. are added to thesambar and sabzi. The meal is rich in nutrients like vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and anti-oxidants, in essential amounts and as per Government norms. The food energizes the child’s body, thus improving the attention span and concentration level.

The mid-day meal helps in the overall development of the child. Akshaya Patra is making efforts towards feeding more and more children with the mission of reaching 5 million children by 2020.

Today’s era is defined by technology. Technology is the nucleus of all our day-to-day activities. To scale up any industry or service, it is important to be technologically updated. Whether in a giant production unit or in a humble charitable trust technology has the power to soar production output and transform lives of needy, respectively. The spectrum of technology is enormous and hence if used constructively, it will always reap benefit.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is well aware of the enormity of technological influence and thus employs it to increase productivity and reach. Akshaya Patra employs technology in its operations, kitchen process and various management processes. It is the pioneer in using technology in Mid-Day Meal sector. The Centralized kitchens of Akshaya Patra are a testimony to this. All the Centralized kitchens are semi-mechanized with partial human interference. The mechanization of cooking process has helped in minimizing cooking time and also helped in meeting highest standards of hygiene.

For better process efficiency, concepts such as Kaizen, 5S and Six Sigma Methodologies are also adopted at Akshaya Patra kitchens. To better manage the fleet of meal delivery vehicles, implementation of Global Positioning Devices (GPS) has also been started in a phased manner. This will ensure punctuality and also act as a safety measure of the meal delivery vehicles. Akshaya Patra is also using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. With the introduction of ERP and the peripheral systems, the organization is now able to connect all locations on a single platform on a real-time basis. All the locations can now access the central ERP server for material and financial accounting.

Akshaya Patra is also utilizing the Internet technology in a constructive way to spread awareness about its cause. Through the various platforms of the web it is in its stride to have a global reach. Currently, Akshaya Patra is present in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+ andPinterest.

The use of Internet technology has shown commendable results in terms of creating awareness and increased number of people getting involved with the cause.

Technology has certainly shown its impact in a positive way at Akshaya Patra. Increased efficiency, better reach and scalability have been attained by using different technologies for the overall functioning of the Foundation to attain the core objective of “No child in India shall be deprived of hunger because of hunger.”

“Food for education” is not just another phrase for The Akshaya Patra Foundation. It is the reason of its existence. Akshaya Patra is a NGO based in Bangalore implementing the mid-day meal programme. It is providing food to children studying in Government school across 9 states of India. It opines that education can eliminate illiteracy and uplift the society for a better future. Through the mid-day meal programme it is aiming to counter two main issues- illiteracy and poverty.

Food is an integral part of education. A hungry stomach will not allow a child to study and perform well in school. It is the primary necessity that needs to be fulfilled in order to reap the benefits of education. The mid-day meal becomes a motivating factor for the children to come to school. It also works as an incentive for parents to send their children to school with the hope that the children will at least be able to have one wholesome and nutritious meal a day. Akshaya Patra provides freshly cooked nutritious meal to 1.3 million children across India everyday.

The Foundation follows a three item menu in each location. As each region has its own specific taste, Akshaya Patra prepares the meals in a way that it is both nutritious and palatable to each region. It is done so that each and every child enjoys the mid-day meal. Studies have shown that the mid-day meal has increased enrolment, improved attendance and performance of the students, and has helped in reducing drop-out rate. Apart from these benefits, it boosts the confidence of the children to dream big and achieve higher in life. The millions of dreams are a very strong motivating factor for Akshaya Patra to spread its wings to serve more and more children across the country. The Foundation achieved the milestone of serving one billion meals in 2012 (since its inception in 2000) and it aims to feed 5 million children by 2020.

End of every academic year sees a set of children moving on to pursue higher education and another set just beginning to hold the pencil. Be a part of this cause to fulfil the dreams of these children which begins by providing them with a wholesome meal. Akshaya Patra provides many opportunities to its supporters so that they can play an active role in the lives of the children and the cause. Join Akshaya Patra-

• As a Volunteer- https://www.akshayapatra.org/volunteer
• As a Donor- https://www.akshayapatra.org/onlinedonations
• For Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiative- https://www.akshayapatra.org/csr-opportunities

Every bit of your support has the potential to transform the lives of millions of children.

Dictionary meaning of the term volunteer is, “a person who performs a service willingly and without pay.” Each person can take up volunteering for a cause he or she supports. The interest of the person to make a mark on the society by becoming a part of the solution can go a long way in changing the nation. Like drops and drops make an ocean, the acts of each and every volunteer contribute to the development and progress of any country.

 Volunteering has several benefits. It has an impact even on the individual’s life apart from the cause in support. It helps a person in developing skills or using one’s skills to the best possible extent. Volunteering is a great opportunity to socialize and meet likeminded people.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation also enjoys the unending support of volunteers. These volunteers are committed to the cause of eradicating hunger from our country and promoting education. Akshaya Patra offers volunteer participation in two ways namely, online and offline.

The offline opportunities include:

• Introducing Akshaya Patra to your Institute/Company. 
• Raise funds for the cause through events. 
• Becoming our consultant. 
• Visiting schools where Akshaya Patra food is served. 
• Helping in kitchen operation. 
• Supporting  for events and campaigns

The online opportunities include:

• Becoming an online supporter.
• Writing about Akshaya Patra in your blogs.
• Online fundraising.
• Social media volunteering.

“The world is hugged by the faithful arms of volunteers” said Terri Guillemets. Akshaya Patra feels safe to be in the hands of volunteers like all of you.

To know more visit: http://www.akshayapatra.org/volunteer

The Akshaya Patra Foundation was invited to Rabat, Morocco to attend an International Congress entitled ‘Rural Woman, Partner of the Development Process’, held from 8-10 March 2013.  The invitation was extended by The National Union of Women of Morocco, an association of public utility presided by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meriem.  The Union works towards education, literacy, vocational training, health and personal status of women.

The three day conference was attended by invited representatives from 63 countries.  Akshaya Patra represented India, along with two Indian journalists.  At the sessions, Akshaya Patra contributed to the discussions and several recommendations made were adopted for action.

Akshaya Patra started its journey of feeding school children with 1500 children.  It is said that a tree of good intention is fast laden with fruits. Though beginning with a humble number, we have been able to achieve vast extension of our reach. We are feeding 1.3 million children in 19 locations spread across 9 states.  Akshaya Patra is not only removing hunger but promoting education and taking the children to the path of happiness and growth.

The one wholesome, hot nutritious meal served had miraculous impact.

Impact study done by A.C Nielson on Akshaya Patra’s work came out with the following results-

• Increase in school attendance

• Socialisation among children

• Empowerment of local women

• Improvement in nutritional status

• Increase in enrolment by 28%

• Decrease in drop-out rate by 8%

We were able to reach all these milestones with the help received from Government, individual donors and corporates. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a unique Public Private Partnership (PPP) where the Government is a major stakeholder. The Government of India, along with various State Governments, provides subsidies in the form of cash and grain grants.

At the same time generous donations from individuals, corporate and public sector units have also played an important role in providing a nutritious, balanced meal for the children. Our donors had been substantial to sustain and expand our program. We express our gratitude to them. We could not have achieved it without their support

We have been able to feed 1.3 million children, but we have long way to go to fulfil our mission of feeding 5 million children by 2020. For this we need to expand and increase the number of kitchen at the same time we need funds for incurring the running cost of our existing kitchen. We expect you to support us with the same zeal to expand the horizon of our reach to hungry children.

You have been the cause of bringing smiles to 1.3 million faces; we seek your support to spread it to 5 million.

A group of delegates comprising of 16 entrepreneur led web mission to India visited Akshaya Patra’s Vasanthapura, Bangalore kitchen early morning on 12^th Feb 2013. They were all enthusiastic and excited to know about the kitchen process through their short visit. They considered their early hours of the day spent in a very fruitful way.

Web mission is entrepreneur led mission comprising of sixteen of the UK’s most promising digital wireless and mobile software technologies. The mission is supported by UK’s Technology strategy Board and British Government’s Trade and Investment department. The group took the tour of all the three floors  paying full interest in knowing the each aspect of the operation.

They were impressed to see how Akshaya Patra has used innovation in scaling up the production from feeding 1500 to 1.3 million children and played its role in boosting social development.

Akshaya Patra has 19 centralized kitchens using technology relevantly .  The kitchen has been built across three levels where the preparation process begins at the top most level and is finished as it passes on to the next level (next floor). On The roof top big silos are kept that hold rice and lentils from where the ingredients go down to different floors and go through the process of preparation.  Finally hot cooked meal goes down a further floor where it is packed in the  containers  to be hauled in insulated vehicles delivering to different schools.

With help of gravity flow mechanism this food is transported down to a lower level through channels built through the ceiling. Custom-made machinery is used for cooking which reduces human intervention and keeps the food hygienic. Akshaya Patra Foundation makes use of systems like ERP, 5S and kaizen to make use of the optimum resources for storage, production and distribution.

These kitchens are pivotal to the foundation providing hot nutritious and wholesome meal to the children.  The Akshaya Patra has been harnessing technology for innovation in its kitchen process that has been the main cause of being able to scale up production. All this has immensely impressed Web Mission 13 who wrote “Web Mission /Web Mission wrote- It is a very effective model of innovation in process and precise time management; built and refined on a charitable basis.”

Many of the delegates tweeted very positively about Akshaya Patra‘s service, its operation and mission.

Source: 1 http://webmission.com/akshaya-patra-kitchen-visit/

2 http://www.akshayapatra.org/web-mission-2013-kitchen-visit

A 16 member group from Web Mission 2013 recently visited Akshaya Patra’s kitchen in Bangalore. The group also interacted with the Akshaya Patra representatives. They highly appreciated the entire programme. Here is a brief of the visit from their perspective.

“Want to take your business to the next level?  We suggest you start by learning the tactics used by humble school-lunch kitchen, Akshaya Patra. This social enterprise has scaled from providing lunch for three schools in Bangalore to now serving 1.3 million children every day throughout India.

Akshaya Patra is a foundation that’s become a case study for those studying business at Harvard University. The idea is that if schools provide children with meals, then parents will send their children to school, instead of making them work in the fields, streets or family businesses to earn enough money to pay for their own meal.  Since launching in 2000, Akshaya Patra has helped to increase student enrolment by 28% and give more people the chance to take a whole family out of poverty by using the education to get a job, or even start one for their own business.

Click here watch the video that will provide an insight in how these kitchens are run and what’s allowed them to grow at a super-fast rate.

After spending the morning in one of Akshaya Patra’s Bangalore kitchens, we visited a TechCrunch, India event and met tons of infectiously enthusiastic entrepreneurs bursting with new business ideas.”

Source: http://www.smarta.com/blog/2013/2/web-mission-2013-looking-to-grow-your-business-a-kitchen-in-india-can-show-you-how

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, in association with the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, organized a two-day programme in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, entitled ‘Towards a Healthier and Stronger Tomorrow – An exposure-cum-training programme on smooth functioning of Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS)’.

The programme was organised with an aim to enable an environment to debate and examine fresh perspectives on the MDMS. 24 Officials of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme from 12 states attended the programme.

With the MDMS currently reaching out to over 10 crore children, this programme also sought to identify, appreciate and absorb the various facets of the Scheme through transparent discussion between Government, NGOs and private sector on how the country can achieve milestones in the Mid-Day Meal Scheme.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation invited esteemed speakers from social enterprises and consultancies, legal advisors, international motivational speakers and renowned journalists to give insights into issues that had linkages to hunger and malnutrition.

Gaya Prasad, Director (MDM), Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India gave an overview of the MDM Scheme, its evolution, needs, objectives, and way forward. Jagranjan Mishra, General Manager, Operations, Akshaya Patra, Gujarat, spoke on how Akshaya Patra’s Centralised Kitchens is a blend of innovation, technology and management.

Dr. Nitin Maurya, Innovation Officer, National Innovation Foundation, focused on the power of innovation, while Parvathi Menon, Managing Director, Innovation Alchemy Consultancy gave an insight into the hub & spoke model for Mid-Day Meal Scheme. Advisor to the Supreme Court of India on monitoring food security, Dr. Biraj Patnaik’s session on ‘Food a Basic Human Right’ highlighted that the Government should prioritise the issue of malnutrition, take learnings from cross-cutting examples such as Brazil’s Zero Hunger Program which successfully reduced the malnutrition rate from 46% to 4% and design similar interventions.

Dr. R Balasubramaniam, Founder, Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement engaged the audience in an interactive session to understand the topic Collaborative Leadership – Challenges and Opportunities. The two-day programme ended with a session on media and the Mid-Day Meal by Pratap Somvanshi, Resident Editor, Hindustan.

Jasvinder Sehgal, a freelance international broadcaster and an integral part of the communications team at The Akshaya Patra Foundation coordinated all the sessions.

Excerpts from the Feedback

• “The training programme was very helpful to work with our society and it teaches us how to build bridges in the MDM ecosystem.” – Hemant Salunke, Superintendent, Ahmed Nagar, Maharashtra.
• “It is interesting, enlightening, inspiring and worth emulating.” – Gangadhar Sahoo, State Nodal Officer, MDM, Odisha.
• “This type of training programme should be organised frequently.”- N.N Barman, Project Director, CMDMP, West Bengal.
• “The training programme was very good and refreshing. It has given a lot of ideas for way forward. Thank You.” – Rajendra Dhakane, Superintendent, Latur, Maharashtra.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, whole heartedly welcomes Government declaration of coming up with a solution to address the problem of constantly declining child sex ratio in the country which is considered a serious problem.  It was declared on National Girl Child Day. Women and Child Development (WCD) Secretary Prem Narain said the Ministry is coming up with a national plan of action to improve child sex ratio through a concerted effort from most of ministries.

24 January is celebrated as the National Girl Child Day every year since 2008 by the Government of India. The primary objective of the National Girl Child Day is raising awareness and consciousness of the society towards the girl child. Akshaya Patra is also supporting towards achieving this objective.

Akshaya Patra is feeding school children to promote education.  It has brought down school drop-out rate and increased attendance in general, particularly the girl’s ratio. As the well known saying goes “If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family (nation).”Akshaya Patra is doing its part in providing equal access to women by feeding them in school. By providing mid-day meal the Foundation plays an important part in reducing the drop-out rates from school and attracting the students to stay in school.

In many cases parents are either not able to send their daughters to school or are forced to take them out of school in the absence of resources. Story of Jaithun, three sisters, Deepti and many other indicate towards the same where parents were motivated to send their daughters to school for a bright future and also due to the temptation that food served was very nutritious, filling and healthy.  All these stories had something in common and that is awareness and willingness of the parents to send their daughters to school. Meagre resources of parents were the only hindrance. This obstacle was removed by Akshaya Patra. Its one wholesome meal served to the children shaded off the burden of parents.

By doing so Akshaya Patra is aiding to build an atmosphere where education of girl child is considered equally important and they are given equal opportunity to rise up in life.  It is supporting the Government’s objective that girls are born, loved, nurtured and grow up to become empowered citizens of this country with equal rights and opportunities.

Akshaya Patra is grateful to all the girls and the parents who are sending their daughters to school and contributing in preparing the society where gender ratio no longer remains a matter of concern and it is ensured that every girl child is respected and valued in society.

Source:  Zee News India