The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a non-profit organisation that has continuously worked towards providing mid-day meals to children studying in Government and Government-aided schools. It serves 1.8 million children across 52 locations spread in 12 States and 2 Union Territories. Donate and make a difference into the lives of people who really need your support. Be it in times of crisis or during regular days, your contribution goes a long way.

As we grew up from being little, mischievous children to mature, decision-making adults, there was a realisation that set in. Every step we take is always towards making progress. This applies to individuals, businesses, organizations and every being that strives to achieve. This is the story of Akshaya Patra as well. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a non-profit organization that works towards providing unlimited food for education to children studying in Government schools and Government-aided schools.

Each school day, Akshaya Patra beneficiaries receive locally palatable school meals. For example, while children of Rajasthan enjoy their state-specific menu items during lunch, children of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha or any other state are served with lunch that suits their local taste buds. However, utmost care is taken to ensure all children receive the recommended dietary nutrients every single day.

Akshaya Patra’s reach across India:
• 18,00,907 children
• 19,039 schools
• 52 locations
• 12 States & 2 Union Territories

Akshaya Patra has been working relentlessly towards providing school meals to school children on a daily basis since 2000. While making progresses to nourish more and more children with wholesome mid-day meals, Akshaya Patra also focusses on Anganwadi Feeding Programme, Breakfast Programme, and Meal Plate Distribution Programme.

Below is an overview of Akshaya Patra’s work during the fiscal 2019-2020:

New kitchens:
With the objective to benefit more children with Mid-Day Meal Programme, Akshaya Patra started new kitchens in 10 locations:

Disaster relief service:
Akshaya Patra proactively responded to several natural disasters and crisis by providing food to the needy and affected people. In 2019-2020, Akshaya Patra stepped up during:
• Odisha Cyclone Relief (15 May 2019 to 6 June 2019): It served a total of 1 lakh meals in cyclone-hit areas of Brahmagiri, Satar, Kanas, Gok, and Satyabadi
• Assam Flood Relief (17 July 2019 to 3 August 2019): It served a total of 52,880 meals in Athgaon area of Kamrup District.
• North Karnataka Flood Relief (6 August 2019 to 17 August 2019): It served a total of 2,19,736 meals in Dharwad region.
• COVID-19 Relief Service (25th March 2020 till present day): It served 33,52,911 meals and 1,64,066 dry grocery kits across Rajasthan, Gujarat, NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh as on 7th April 2020.

Achievements:
• The Akshaya Patra Foundation was honoured with the Outlook Poshan Special Jury Award in 2019 for its valuable contribution in the Urban Nutrition (Institution) category.
• Akshaya Patra won the BBC World Service Global Food Champion Award 2019, which is an annual award that honours people or causes that help societies and inspires lives.
• The Mahatma Award for Social Good was conferred on The Akshaya Patra Foundation for its impact on society by implementing the Mid-Day Meal Programme.
• Akshaya Patra’s Thane kitchen received the CII Award for strong commitment to food safety in the category of ‘Small & Medium Food Service – Catering.
• The Jury of CII recommended the recognition level of Trophy for Outstanding Performance in Food Safety to Akshaya Patra’s Bhavnagar Kitchen.
• The Indian Chamber of Commerce – Social Impact Awards 2020 was honoured to The Akshaya Patra Foundation for ‘Promoting Education in Large Project Category.’
• Akshaya Patra was honoured with Rotary Karnataka CSR Awards 2020 in the category of CSR Excellence in Basic Education and Literacy.
• Akshaya Patra Won Gold at League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) vision Awards.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation has diligently worked towards serving the Nation and its citizens. There are many tasks that are still in line for making the future better. You can also contribute towards the role of NGO and reach out to fellow citizens and children of the nation.

Akshaya Patra has left no stone unturned to nourish children on each school day and provide food relief to the needy during crisis hours.
Your contribution will definitely ensure a better and brighter future.

If you feel that you have not been able to do your best generous donation all this month, you still have an extra day to show how much you care for creating a better future. Donate to Akshaya Patra, it feeds 1.8 million children every single day across 51 locations in India. Take this leap to donate towards their future on this extra day! Happy LEAP YEAR indeed!

The word EXTRA stirs a unique sense of relief in all of us. Be it an extra holiday, an extra discount tagged along a product or an extra day of Sale in stores and supermarkets. And adding on to the list of EXTRAS, there is uniqueness to this, it’s a LEAP year 2020. Meaning, an extra day to do all the things that you wished you should have done during the other days of the month. Guess what? It is never too late since you have an extra day – so go wash your car, spend time with your family, go out on a date with your parents, give a bonus amount to your domestic help or donate towards an NGO in India that you had once thought of, not long ago.

You really have an extra day this year. Why not utilize it for making a great impact on children? The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a non-profit organization that implements the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in India. With the help of people who donate online, today, it feeds 1.8 million children studying in 16,856 Government and Government-aided schools. It serves healthy and nutritious mid-day meals from 51 centralised and de-centralised kitchens located in 12 States and 2 Union Territories of India, namely – Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Odisha, Karnataka, Gujarat, Delhi, Daman & DNH, Chhattisgarh, Assam and Andhra Pradesh.

The state-of-the-art kitchens serve meals that are locally palatable by the school children. The ingredients picked for the menu help children to stay full for a longer time so that they can concentrate and focus better during their school hours. Some children hail from challenging backgrounds which is why mid-day meals prove to be a boon for them.

How is Akshaya Patra’s meals beneficial?

Many parents send their children to school with the assurance that they will get the right amount of nutrition in their school along with gaining education. Since affording single square meal is a challenging task, they rely on school meals to ensure their children’s nutritional requirements. Mid-day meals are planned and prepared keeping in mind the dietary requirements of developing children.

Quality and hygiene are a priority and are followed strictly right from purchasing raw materials till the delivery of meals. Raw materials are stored in designated store rooms and FIFO and FEFO methods are employed, all cutting and cooking equipment along with vessels are sterilized before and after use, and the employees in the kitchen wear protective gears at all times. The Mid-Day Meal Programme has been a success to increase retention rates in various schools. Make this year’s extra day fruitful. Donate school meals and get income tax exemption with every donation under section 80G of the Indian Income Tax Act.

Your LEAP of kindness = YEAR full of wholesome meals for children.