The Akshaya Patra Foundation has gone beyond its call of duty and is supporting for more than its cause of ‘Food for Education.’ Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic, Akshaya Patra began providing food and grocery kits to the people in need; this includes daily-wage labourers, old age homes and marginally poor population across several locations in India.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation has begun its COVID-19 relief services by providing healthy, cooked meals and dry ration kits to thousands of people by co-ordinating with various State Governments & District Administration.

Safety and hygiene measures are adhered to while serving cooked food and while distributing dry grocery kits to the needy in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Tripura. As on 13 May 2020, a total of 1,78,17,671 cooked meals and 5,66,400 dry grocery kits were distributed.

Akshaya Patra’s on-going relief activities:

Day 50: 13th May 2020Day 49: 12th May 2020Day 48: 11th May 2020Day 47: 10th May 2020Day 46: 9th May 2020Day 45: 8th May 2020Day 44: 7th May 2020Day 43: 6th May 2020Day 42: 5th May 2020Day 41: 4th May 2020Day 40: 3rd May 2020Day 39: 2nd May 2020Day 38: 1st May 2020Day 37: 30th April 2020Day 36: 29th April 2020Day 35: 28th April 2020Day 34: 27th April 2020Day 33: 26th April 2020Day 32: 25th April 2020Day 31: 24th April 2020Day 30: 23rd April 2020Day 29: 22nd April 2020Day 28: 21st April 2020Day 27: 20th April 2020Day 26: 19th April 2020Day 25: 18th April 2020Day 24: 17th April 2020Day 23: 16th April 2020Day 22: 15th April 2020

Day 21: 14th April 2020

Day 20: 13th April 2020

Day 19: 12th April 2020

Day 18: 11th April 2020

Day 17: 10th April 2020

Day 16: 9th April 2020
Akshaya Patra continues to serve cooked meals and dry grocery kits across all its relief service locations.

Day 15: 8th April 2020
Akshaya Patra has begun serving in Uttarakhand while continuing to serve in other locations.

Day 14: 7th April 2020
Akshaya Patra has begun serving in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh while continuing to serve in other locations.

Day 13: 6th April 2020
Akshaya Patra has intensified its relief service across all locations.

Day 12: 5th April 2020
Akshaya Patra has begun relief service in Assam too while continuing to serve other locations.

Day 11: 4th April 2020
Akshaya Patra has begun relief service in Andhra Pradesh too while continuing to provide cooked meals and grocery kits in other locations.

Day 10: 3rd April 2020
Akshaya Patra is continuing its effort to maximising its reach so that more needy people can be supported during this crisis.

Day 9: 2nd April 2020
By the day, as the COVID-19 crisis is intensifying, Akshaya Patra is also increasing its reach of relief service.

Day 8: 1st April 2020
Akshaya Patra enters the second week of its relief service.

Day 7: 31st March 2020
Akshaya Patra began its relief service in three more states.

Day 6: 30th March 2020
The aim is to ensure the needy receives the much-needed food each day.

Day 5: 29th March 2020
Akshaya Patra is tirelessly working to reach out to more and more needy people to provide food relief during these tough times.

Day 4: 28th March 2020
As the lockdown got stricter, groceries seemed to be the need of the hour too. Hence, Akshaya Patra stepped up to provide dry grocery kits (contains rice, dal, oil, and vegetables) along with continuing to serve cooked meals.

Day 3: 27th March 2020
It was about serving more and more needy people.

Day 2: 26th March 2020
The Foundation extended its relief service to other locations.
Day 1: 25th March 2020
Akshaya Patra began its relief service from Jaipur in Rajasthan by providing 16,000 cooked meals to the needy.

Supporting each other is the need of the hour
Many State Agencies, District Authorities and citizens have come forward to show their support during this unforeseen crisis situation. You too can make a difference by donating to Akshaya Patra’s Corona Relief Service. Every penny of your donation towards Akshaya Patra’s COVID-19 Relief Service will help the Foundation to:
• Provide cooked meals and dry grocery kits to daily wage workers, migrant labourers, and the low-income and marginalised section.
• Expand the relief operations to serve many more needy people at this hour of great crisis.

To view more images from Akshaya Patra’s relief services, click here.

Support generously. It’s for the well-being of the people of our own country.

Malnutrition in children is one of the major barriers to the overall development of India. Observing this, the Government has introduced several programmes to address the issue of hunger in children. One such programmes is the PM POSHAN Abhiyaan (Mid-Day Meal Programme or MDM).

Mid-Day Meal Programme – A Remedy for Malnutrition in Children

PM POSHAN Abhiyaan (MDM) is a remarkable initiative by the Government of India to serve mid-day meals to children in government and government-aided schools and thus ensure their holistic nourishment. The programme mainly strives to bring in two main equalities among children.

1. Nutritional equality
   Due to the economic constraints, many children do not receive adequate nutrient-rich meals from their households. This can cause serious problems in their physical and mental development. The balanced meals they receive from school address this issue and protect them from the risk of illnesses caused by nutrient deficiencies.
   
2. Educational equality
   The promise of a nutritious meal every day encourages parents to send their children to school which in turn safeguards their right to education. With proper nourishment, children will enjoy their learning which in turn better their future.

Let’s look in detail at the importance of mid-day meals in India.

As per UNICEF’s Global Nutrition Report 2018, India bears almost a third of the global burden of malnutrition. The root cause of this widespread issue is malnourishment in childhood which manifests primarily through stunting, wasting and anaemia. It leads to serious health, social and economic repercussions in the future. In order to prevent such causes, regular nutrition is necessary.

For a healthy upbringing, children need a balanced intake of the following two kinds of nutrients.

• Macronutrients – Carbohydrates, proteins and fat are the macronutrients we need in a large amount
• Micronutrients – Vitamins and minerals our body needs in small amounts.

Another pressing concern related to malnutrition is hidden hunger. It stems from deficiencies in micronutrients such as iodine, vitamin A, iron and zinc. Children from a challenging socio-economic background rely on low-quality food that is available at a cheaper rate. However, such food does not meet their body’s nutritional demands which seriously damages their health, growth and development.

The outcomes of the Mid-Day Meal Programme (MDM):

• Increase enrolment
• Improve attendance
• Better concentration power
• Address malnutrition
• Mitigate classroom hunger
• Reduce the drop-out rate
• Women empowerment
• Improve socialisation

How Akshaya Patra contributes to the Mid-Day Meal Programme?

Akshaya Patra, as an implementing partner, has been serving mid-day meals to children since 2000. From feeding 1,500 children in 5 schools in Bengaluru, the NGO has now reached feeding 2.2 million children in 16 states and 2 UTs. Our kitchens with state-of-the-art facilities meet global quality standards and serve meals that are safe, hygienic and nutritious, adhering to the local palate. We employ food fortification methods to meet the diverse nutritional needs of children. It has shown a successful result in preventing their micronutrient deficiencies.

Recently, we have achieved a milestone of serving 4 billion cumulative meals and we celebrated it at the UN headquarters. It throws light on our commitment to combat classroom hunger and thus promote education.

Each meal you donate for children nourishes many such dreams and makes their lives better.

Behind every meal we have served so far, there was a helping hand of generous people like you. Continue supporting us to realise our vision of ‘No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger’.

Your support nourishes their dreams and inspires them to reach new heights.