On the occasion of World Food Day 2016, read about Akshaya Patra’s commitment to delivering high-quality meals to school children. The Foundation’s cause of food for education is the driving force behind its acclaimed Mid-Day Meal Programme.

Food is the most basic necessity that drives all life on earth and ensures that the circle of life continues without hindrance. Sadly, humanity, ever-expanding, is grappling with hunger and malnutrition, as a large number of people across the globe are deprived of their right to food security. The nations of the world recognise the need to tackle these issues, and hence, observe World Food Day 2016 on October 16, to commemorate the formation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945.

For the past 16 years, Akshaya Patra has been devoted to the cause of ending classroom hunger, with a mission that no child should be deprived of education due to hunger. In 2016, the organisation reached an important milestone of having served 2 billion meals since its inception. Providing a meal a day for school children in 11 states across India is no mean feat. It involves strict adherence to quality – from the initial stages of procuring the ingredients to the cooking processes and the distribution of food. Here’s how the Foundation feeds school children – from crafting its meals to delivering them.

Procurement

The first step to a healthy meal is sourcing ingredients from credible sellers. Akshaya Patra trains its focus on avoiding middlemen and sourcing ingredients directly from manufacturers/farmers. The locations from which the ingredients are sourced are picked keeping in mind the logistics – sites closest to kitchens are chosen. The price for purchase of these materials is fixed by an internal joint committee and the Foundation continuously strives to reduce dependency on urban mandis.

Akshaya Patra follows Supplier Quality Management programme in selecting and approving vendors. These vendors, all of whom are licensed under Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and follow the authority’s specifications for raw materials, are pre-audited by the quality team prior to approval. The ingredients are sourced from various entities, pan India:

• The pulses come from Gulbarga and Hubballi (Karnataka), Latur (Maharashtra), Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Jaipur (Rajasthan)
• Vegetables are sourced from Cuttack (Odisha), Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) and local farmers in different locations
• Spices are bought from Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), Byadgi (Karnataka), Salem (Tamil Nadu), Jodhpur and Kota (Rajasthan), and Sangli (Maharashtra)
• Edible oil comes from Mangalore (Karnataka) and Kandla (Gujarat)
• Dairy is bought from Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Anand (Gujarat), companies like Mother Dairy

Children embody all that is good and noble about mankind. For a nation to make significant strides, it is imperative that its children are well-educated and well-nourished.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, through its mid-day meal programme for school children, has ensured that millions of children across India are provided with healthy, wholesome mid-day meals, so that children do not drop out of school due to hunger. Recently, the Foundation, which feeds over 1.6 million children across 10 states in India in 13,210 schools, celebrated having served 2 billion meals since its inception, in the presence of Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Honourable President of India.

They say the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Akshaya Patra’s journey too had humble beginnings in the year 2000, when the organisation started serving mid-day meals to 1,500 children in five schools in Bengaluru. In the years since, the Foundation, in partnership with state and central governments and with the help of generous benefactors, established its presence across the country. It now provides nutritious mid-day meals, cooked in its centralised and decentralised kitchens under extremely hygienic conditions, to school children in 10 states in India – Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh.

Throughout the years, Akshaya Patra has shown much innovation and has been the topic of numerous case studies. Its state-of-the-art kitchens, many of which are ISO-certified, have also been covered as part of lengthy documentaries by the international media. The year 2012 was a very special one for Akshaya Patra, as it served its 1 billionth meal and was ranked 23rd among the top 100 NGOs in the world, by The Global Journal. In just four years since, the Foundation has reached yet another significant milestone of serving 2 billion meals. The organisation has its goal of feeding 5 million children by 2020 firmly in sight, as it pursues to expand its presence across the country. To view images of President of India commemorating 2 billion meals, click here.