One of the pioneer mid-day meal NGOs, it has been a relentless effort of The Akshaya Patra Foundation to benefit more and more children with the Mid-Day Meal Programme. Recently, the Foundation inaugurated its 59th and 60th kitchen in Gadarpur, Uttarakhand and Lawspet, Puducherry.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a midday meal NGO has been nourishing school children with nutritious meals for the past 21 years. It has been their constant endeavour to benefit more and more children with this programme. Until 2021, Akshaya Patra had a beneficiary base of 18,00,907 children across 19,039 government schools and government-aided schools across 58 locations of 13 States and 1 Union Territory.
Stepping forward as a midday meal NGO with the vision, “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger” and a defined mission, “To feed 5 million children by 2025”, Akshaya Patra recently expanded its reach to two new regions – Gadarpur in Uttarakhand and Lawspet in Puducherry. While both the kitchens will follow suit similar to any other centralized kitchen of Akshaya Patra with regards to adherence to highest standards of hygiene, food safety and quality, the specifics of each kitchen are as follows:
• Gadarpur Kitchen in Uttarakhand
Inauguration: On 1 January 2022, Shri Arvind Pandey – Honourable Minister of School Education, Government of Uttarakhand inaugurated the Gadarpur Kitchen. The other prominent guests at the event were Shri Balraj Pasi, Honourable Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha and delegates of Concentrix. On behalf of the Foundation, Shri Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice-Chairman, Akshaya Patra; Shri G Raghuram, Principal Academic Advisor, National Rail and Transport, Trustee of Akshaya Patra Foundation; and Shri Bharatarshabha Dasa, National President, Trustee of Akshaya Patra were present at the event.
About the Kitchen: The Gadarpur Kitchen is the 59th kitchen of Akshaya Patra and the first of its kind in Uttarakhand. This centralized kitchen is sponsored by Concentrix with a built-up area of 7,000 sq. ft.
Feeding capacity and menu: The kitchen is equipped to prepare 15,000 meals. However, it will start by serving about 10,000 children in 100 Government schools and eventually increase its reach. Continuing with the practice to feed the children with locally palatable meals, the menu of Gadarpur Kitchen will be cyclic and include roti, rice, mix dal, aloo matar, rajma, veg pulao, kabuli chana, khichdi and kheer.
Way forward: In the near future, Akshaya Patra aims to set up kitchens in five cities of Uttarakhand – Dehradun, Rudrapur, Kashipur, Sitarganj and Haridwar. This will benefit approximately 2.2 lakh children in the state.
• Puducherry Kitchen
Inauguration: On 5 January 2022, Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan – Honourable Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry and Shri N. Rangasamy – Honourable Chief Minister inaugurated Akshaya Patra’s Puducherry Kitchen in Lawspet. The other prominent guests at the event were Shri R. Selvam – Honourable Speaker, Puducherry Legislative Assembly; Shri A. Namassivayam – Honourable Minister, Home and Education; Shri K. Lakshminarayanan – Honourable Minister, PWD; Shri A.K. Sai J. Saravanan Kumar – Honourable Minister, Civil Supplies; Shri V. Vaithilingam – MP (Lok Sabha); Shri S. Selvaganapathy – MP (Rajya Sabha); Shri P.M.L. Kalyanasundaram – MLA, Kalapet; Shri M. Vaithianathan, MLA – Lawspet; Shri Ramakant Agarwal – General Manager, The New India Assurance Co. Ltd.; and Smt. Jayashri Prabhu, Senior Manager, General Insurance Corporation of India. The event was presided by Shri Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice-Chairman, Akshaya Patra.
About the Kitchen: The Puducherry Kitchen is the 60th kitchen of Akshaya Patra and the first in Puducherry. This centralized kitchen is supported by The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. and General Insurance Corporation of India. It has a fleet of 20 vehicles to deliver meals to schools.
Feeding capacity and menu: The kitchen is equipped to serve 50,800 children in 291 Government schools. It will feed the children with locally palatable meals that will include rice and seasonal vegetable poriyal, vegetable pulav, sweet pongal, sambar, sundal, curd, etc.
To sustain the current operations across India and to further expand its reach, Akshaya Patra requires support from all sections of the society – government, civic authorities, CSR partners, as well as individual donors. Be a part of Akshaya Patra’s impactful journey. Donate generously to feed the children.
