The Government of India has been continuously attempting to improve the nutritional status of the Indian children. So far, the government has initiated and implemented several schemes such as Anganwadi feeding, Mid-Day Meal Scheme, and Integrated Child Development Services. Over the years, these programmes have shown tangible results in the health and nutritional status of children across the country. To further the impact of these programmes in a more focussed manner, the Government of India recently launched the National Nutrition Mission, also referred to as ‘Poshan Abhiyaan’.

What is National Nutrition Mission?

According to a government press release dated December 2017, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved setting up of National Nutrition Mission (NNM) with a three-year budget of Rs. 9046.17 crore commencing from 2017-18. Soon after this announcement, in March 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Mission at an event in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan.

The National Nutrition Mission is a comprehensive approach towards integrating various nutrition-oriented schemes to improve the nutrition level in the country targeting children and pregnant women. The NMM will act as an apex body with the responsibility to monitor, supervise, fix targets and guide the nutrition related interventions across the Ministries. The NMM aims to create a synergy and link schemes with each other having common goals and deal with nutrition-related issues in a more focussed manner. Below is a quick overview of the NMM:

What is Akshaya Patra’s role in National Nutrition Mission?

The NMM is indeed a robust approach and the success of it will require a concerted effort from government, corporates, NGOs, and the civil society. Hence, The Akshaya Patra Foundation with 18 years of experience in executing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme will certainly has a crucial role to play in the implementation of the NMM. Currently, there are 34 centralised Akshaya Patra kitchens and the Foundation also has operational decentralised kitchens in two locations. All the kitchens of Akshaya Patra adhere to standard operational processes and have strict hygiene and cleanliness processes. The Foundation ensures that every meal that is served is freshly cooked, nutritious, clean, hygienic, and tasty.

Shridhar Venkat, CEO of The Foundation says, “It is important to ensure that the high standards of cleanliness and quality of meals that Akshaya Patra adheres to, is maintained even after the food is delivered, right until it is consumed by children. In order to facilitate this, we plan to raise awareness among the school authorities and children.” He further added, “In order to enhance the nutritional value of meals, we plan to include high fibre, protein-rich millets and micro-nutrient dense fortified rice in our meals. We have started the millet integration project in Bangalore and Hyderabad. Similarly, over 6-lakh children are benefiting from our ‘Rice Fortification’ programme.”

Recently, Akshaya Patra also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nutrition International India to Improve Nutritional Status of Women and Children in India. Click here to read more.

Presently, Akshaya Patra is providing nutritious meals to more than 1.7 million children studying in 14,173 schools across 36 locations of 12 states. The Foundation aims to feed 5 million children by 2020. The objective of Akshaya Patra is in line with the NMM and it is leaving no stone unturned to nourish the children of India.

How can you be a part of National Nutrition Mission?

The government and the implementing NGOs have all geared up to implement the National Nutrition Mission. And, it’s time that each of us got involved with this Mission too. School meals nourish, nurture, and instil confidence in children. And, this shapes the future of children and maps the progress of the country. So, step forward and sponsor a child’s school meal.

Source:
• www.icds-wcd.nic.in/nnm/NNM-Web-Contents/UPPER-MENU/AboutNNM/PIB_release_NationalNutritionMission.pdf
• pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=177166
• www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/the-torchbearers-of-mission-nutrition-the-akshaya-patra-foundation-118062100679_1.html
• www.icds-wcd.nic.in/nnm/NNM-Web-Contents/UPPER-MENU/AboutNNM/PIB_release_NationalNutritionMission.pdf

June 5th every year marks World Environment Day. This day brings to spotlight, the importance of our environment and the need to preserve the environment for the generations to come. This is a time to collectively address the needs of our Mother Earth and seek ways on how to save the environment. Undertaking this task is of supreme importance because, we the 7.4 billion-inhabiting this planet have only one thing in common and i.e. our home.

Every individual’s actions have profound implications on the environment, however minor or major. Mankind’s practices like hyper-consumerism, environmental pollution, tremendous industrialisation, and throwaway culture has caused environmental degradation that is only augmenting with time. To address this issue, we at Akshaya Patra, have adopted eco-friendly methods to implement our Mid-Day Meal Programme.

Biogas Plants: Under the Go Green initiative, Akshaya Patra has adopted new organic waste to biogas systems in its Ballari and Vasanthapura kitchens. These plants convert organic waste into energy thereby reducing cost and dependency on LPG. Besides this, it also produces volumes of enriched organic manure that help supplement chemical fertilizers. The biogas plants also help in eco-friendly handling of food wastages of approximately 20 metric tonne every month. Read more at Biogas Plant at kitchens of Akshaya Patra

Solar Plant: The solar plant installed in the Vasanthapura kitchen runs with the use of photovoltaic (PV) cells that convert sunlight to direct electricity. The electricity generated is not only sustainable but also environment friendly as solar plants produce no environmental pollution (zero emissions). The solar plant generates 1100 units of power thereby saving up to Rs. 8,000 per month on electricity. To know more about it, visit: Solar plant at VK Hill Kitchen

Biomass Briquette:  These are perfect substitutes to coal and charcoal and are used extensively in our kitchens. Through this, we attempt to conserve our much depleting non-renewable sources of energy like coal.

Effluent Treatment Plants: These plants help in scientific handling, disposal and recycling of runoffs and kitchens wastes. This helps in reducing smell and spillage thereby preventing environmental pollution.

Reed Bed Plants: Some kitchens use this measure to curb discharge of untreated water into the environment. Waste water from the kitchen is directed to the Reed Bed Plant which filters the water in a natural way and makes it suitable for irrigation and cleaning of external kitchen areas. While curbing the discharge of untreated water into the ecosystem, this also makes the water reusable.

Recently, Akshaya Patra inaugurated its largest hi-tech kitchen in Kandi, Telangana. This kitchen is equipped with a couple of eco-friendly technologies such as ReFlex Reverse Osmosys System, COMBLOCK Boiler for steam generation, and ANDICOS Waste to Energy Generation System. The ReFlex Reverse Osmosys System and ANDICOS Waste to Energy Generation System are the first of its kind technologies in India and are pro-environment measures. To read more about the Kandi kitchen and its technologies, visit – Hi-Tech Mega Kitchen.

Besides the aforementioned initiatives, Akshaya Patra has also optimised its meal delivery routes to reduce carbon emissions. In precis, we at Akshaya Patra have adopted these eco-friendly initiatives to help conserve our environment. We are determined that these undertakings will save the environment and additionally will help us take bigger strides in feeding more children!

For the benefit of our future generations, Akshaya Patra invites your participation in its efforts to conserve the environment. Please share your ideas and suggestions on how to save the environment in the below comments section.