5th June is celebrated as World Environment Day every year since 1972. With this year’s theme – Time for Nature, you can give back to the environment with your donation towards children’s mid-day meals. How? With every meal preparation, there is some amount of electricity and gas that is saved. Akshaya Patra serves meals to 1.8 million children every day. So, imagine how much you will be able to save with your donation towards Akshaya Patra!

With recent times being difficult for planet Earth, celebrating World Environment Day to raise awareness about how to take care of our surroundings and our fellow Earthlings is very important and urgent. On 5th June every year, World Environment Day is celebrated in many ways which encourages worldwide awareness and action for the protection of the environment. According to United Nations, this year’s theme is, ‘Time for Nature’ with a focus on supporting life on Earth and human development.

Over 100 countries celebrate World Environment Day since 1972 when 5th June was decided as World Environment Day. Though the theme changes every year, from sustainable consumption to the illegal trade in wildlife, millions of people have taken part every year to sow the seeds of change.

In these exceptional times where nature is sending us a message, we must care for nature while we take care for ourselves.

The environment we live in, is a part of our lives; every individual’s actions have significant impact on the environment.

As a part of giving back to the environment, many NGOs in India have come forward to start tree plantation drives, cleaning of surroundings, rescuing and treating injured animals, cleaning up the city’s beaches, curbing environmental pollution, etc.

To do its best in saving the planet and the society, The Akshaya Patra Foundation has adopted eco-friendly methods in its day-to-day operations of serving mid-day meals. The Foundation makes use of the following:

Bio Gas Plants
Nothing really goes for a waste at Akshaya Patra kitchens. The bio gas plants use waste food and vegetable wastes to convert them into gas for fuelling the burners for cooking stoves used in preparing the meals. This process helps in converting enormous amounts of wastes into green fuel.

Akshaya Patra kitchens at Ballari, H.K. Hill, Nathdwara, Lucknow, Vrindavan, Narsingi, Kandi, Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Surat, Silvassa, Vadodara and Bhuj, use bio gas plants.

These plants also produce large volumes of enriched organic manure that act as a supplement for chemical fertilizers.

Solar Panels
Solar panels are installed in kitchens to reduce dependency on the consumption of grid electricity. This directly helps in conservation of natural resources used for generating electrical power.

Solar panels are installed in Hubbali, Ballari, Mangalagiri, Jigani, V.K. Hill, Udaipur, Ajmer, Nathdwara, Jaipur, Lucknow, Vrindavan, Narsingi, Kandi, Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Surat, Silvassa and Vadodara.

Along with the above initiatives, other eco-friendly technologies like ReFlex Reverse Osmosys System, effluent treatment plants, Reed bed plants are also adopted in different Akshaya Patra kitchens.

How can you act on this World Environment Day?
As an individual, you can plant more trees, use re-usable or cloth bags, use renewable energies wherever possible, as an act of giving back to nature. When you donate to NGO’s like Akshaya Patra, you can water two plants with one hose; you are giving back to nature by supporting its eco-friendly initiatives and also giving back to the society by taking care of the next generation.

This Akshaya Tritiya, do something for the needy and let the pot of unlimited goodness and generosity work in your favour. Donate towards The Akshaya Patra Foundation and help in the feeding of 1.8 million children every single day. Your contribution of ₹1100 can feed a child for an entire academic year where they can concentrate in class rather than being distracted because of a hungry stomach. Every single rupee is utilised towards the Mid-Day Meal Scheme and is tax exempted.

Akshaya Tritiya is considered to be very auspicious for Hindus and Jains alike in India and Nepal. According to the Hindu calendar, it falls on the third lunar day of Vaishaka month and signifies ‘third day of unending prosperity.’ In Sanskrit, ‘A’ means not and ‘kshaya’ ending or erode, ‘Akshaya’ means never ending, unlimited or something that will never diminish.

Akshaya Tritiya is generally celebrated these days by buying gold as it is a sign of prosperity and by offering Pooja to Goddess Lakshmi, who is the bestowal of wealth. This day holds many religious significances:

• It is believed to be the day Lord Parashurama (one of the ten Dashavataras of Lord Vishnu) was born.
• It is the first day of Treta Yuga that begins after Satya Yuga.
• On this day, after many years, Sudama visited his long-lost childhood friend, Lord Krishna. Sudama was suffering  from great poverty, instead of coming bare-handed, he offered the simplest form of food, Aval or puffed rice packed by his wife to Lord Krishna, who in turn blessed him with plenty of wealth and happiness.
• It is the day that the great sage, Veda Vyasa started writing the Mahabharata.
• This auspicious day is also celebrated as the day when Holy Ganges descended upon the Earth.
• The annual Rath Yatra in Puri Jagannath begins on this day.
• Akshaya Tritiya is the day when the Pandavas received the gift of ‘Akshaya Patra’- the inexhaustible vessel of food, during their period of exile.

Like how the Pandavas needed food for their journey, there are millions of children in India who need food to help them walk on the path that leads towards achieving their dreams and goals. Understanding this need of children, The Akshaya Patra Foundation began its journey of feeding ‘unlimited food for education’ by implementing Indian Government’s Mid-Day Meal Scheme.

As on today, Akshaya Patra reaches:In Hinduism, it is believed that the whole day of Akshaya Tritya is auspicious and no special mahuratham is needed to perform any auspicious work. This day is regarded as Sarve Siddha mahuratham. It is a great belief that making charity donations, feeding the needy and sponsoring education of children who are in need, relieves you from trouble and helps you walk on the path of prosperity and happiness. If the whole day is auspicious, then what better way than celebrating it in the right manner that it is meant to be known for? Annadanam on this day brings great benefits to the donors.

Donate online towards The Akshaya Patra Foundation on this Akshaya Tritiya which helps in feeding wholesome school meals for children studying in Government schools and Government-aided schools. It aims to feed 5 million children by 2025 with the Mid-Day Meal Programme, all across India. Every donation ensures that a child’s future is secure and that makes them capable of achieving what they dream of becoming.

Help little children embark on the voyage to achieve their dreams.
Donate towards school meals of children & help them begin their journey.