A father figure is often the backbone of a child’s development and emotional well-being. He is the unsung superhero who loves quietly but gives endlessly to his children. He sets aspirations for his family and disciplines his children so that they grow into physically and emotionally strong individuals in the years to come.
However, fathers in underprivileged communities sometimes struggle to even earn enough for a day, leave alone setting aspirations for the future. Children born in such families often end up working for additional earnings to support their families. Attending school becomes an undying dream for them.
Role of mid day meals (MDM) in child development
Schools serving mid day meals to children are a boon to families from underserved communities. Parents from such families agree to send their children to school since it takes away the burden of feeding them even once a day.
School meals not only bring children to school but a carefully planned menu also helps fight malnutrition in children. For instance, the cyclical mid-day meal menu at Akshaya Patra, an NGO in India, follows guidelines from The Supreme Court of India and the Ministry of Education (formerly known as the Ministry of Human Resource Development).
The Foundation caters to the nutritional needs of both primary and upper primary school children. Moreover, the food prepared caters to their local palates to avoid wastage.
Such a well-planned menu from Akshaya Patra, ensures that children enjoy their school meals. Little to no wastage ensures that children receive complete nourishment which strengthens their vital organs, immunity and stamina, thus helping them stay active throughout the day.
Akshaya Patra’s fatherly concern for its beneficiaries
Akshaya Patra was started in 2000 with the aim that ‘No child in India shall be deprived of education because of food.’ The NGO in India began by feeding 1,500 children and partnered with the Government of India to efficiently implement the much-needed mid day meal (MDM) programme mandated in 2001.
Ever since, the Foundation went through multiple ups and downs but never lost its way, just like a father. For 21 years, it has grown to feed 1.8 million children in 14 states and 2 Union Territories from 61 kitchens across India.
Like a parent, Akshaya Patra strives to enhance its meal preparation processes to ensure minimum human-touch, improvements in kitchen operations are incorporated:
• Centralized mega kitchens with 100,000 meals cooking capacity
• Cooking utensils made of food-safe stainless steel of 304 Grade that are sanitized before every use
• Quality assurance processes such as Supplier Selection, Supplier Qualification, Supplier Rating etc. that ensure the procurement of right and high-quality raw materials
• Vegetables procured and sorted out on a daily basis to ensure they are fresh and of best quality
• Kaizen, CI Projects and Six Sigma methodologies for constant improvement
• Meals prepared from a standardized cyclical menu
• Well-structured Quality Assurance Programme implemented during Pre-Production, Production and Post-Production stages of meal preparation
• Daily feedbacks taken from schools while delivering meals
• Audits and surveys conducted on a daily, monthly and yearly basis.
Father’s day celebration with Akshaya Patra
The Foundation is registered with the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 and runs the largest NGO-run school lunch programme in the world. So when you start a fundraising campaign or donate in honour of your father to Akshaya Patra, be rest assured that your contribution will reach the children who need it the most. Your support like that of a father will encourage our beneficiaries to dream big and strive fearlessly to achieve them.
So, why wait? This Father’s Day, donate online and celebrate with Akshaya Patra, a father’s care, sacrifices and tough love by nourishing children and their big dreams.
