With Women’s Day approaching we have taken a moment to reflect on how we, at Akshaya Patra, work to support the young girls and women of India. Equal opportunity in employment or sustenance, regardless of gender, has always been a core value of Akshaya Patra’s mid-day meal programme. The Foundation has worked to support women in three major ways.

1. Feeding the girl child – In many parts of India, the girl child is still considered a burden on the household. While sons are encouraged to study (if income permits it), often the girls have to stay at home to help with household chores or look after their younger siblings. But with Akshaya Patra’s mid-day meal programme parents gladly send their daughters to school too since it gives them one less mouth to feed for the day. Through this programme all children – both boys and girls – get the benefit of regular healthy food, and education too.
2. Permanent employment – Akshaya Patra offers equal opportunities to both men and women in the kitchens. The Foundation employs nearly 800 women in the centralised kitchens across India, and over 1400 women in the decentralised kitchens run in Baran and Nayagarh. These decentralised kitchens are run by women Self-Help Groups in the region. The employment of women not only provides the women and their families with economic independence, it also boosts their self-esteem and local standing. They serve as role models to other young girls encouraging them to study hard and earn a good living.
3. Support at Anganwadis – Akshaya Patra serves food to infants, pregnant women and lactating mothers at local Anganwadis. This is to ensure that at this time of their lives where adequate nutrition is vital, Akshaya Patra provides them with all the support they require.

This is our way of ensuring we celebrate women, not only on one day, but all year round. Help us give more education and employment to the young girls and ladies of India. Make a donation here.

Saavn, India’s No.1 digital music service, has partnered with Akshaya Patra to launch #MusicForMeals with the goal of feeding 5,000 children the mid-day meal on every school day for an entire year!

This initiative is the first of its kind, powered by music listening on Saavn. For every hour of music streamed via their website on apps, Saavn will donate towards one Akshaya Patra mid-day meal for one child.

Speaking on the vision behind #MusicForMeals Rishi Malhotra, Co-Founder and CEO of Saavn says, “Our goal as a company has always been to be as impactful as the music we stream to millions of users every day. Just as we have become India’s music streaming service, we want the Saavn team and our users to make a lasting difference in the world, especially in India, where children are the next generation of students, leaders, entrepreneurs, and the future of the country. We’re launching #MusicForMeals so that our users’ love for music can translate into sending children to schools for wholesome meals, on a daily basis. We are inviting other companies to join #MusicForMeals as it is an opportunity for all companies to collaborate and make a lasting impact. As we add millions of users and streams this year, we’ll grow our support for #MusicForMeals alongside it. We believe music can truly change the world in every way.”

Saavn will make a monthly donation to Akshaya Patra which will be implemented across the Foundation’s beneficiary schools in India. They just made their first contribution of Rs. 3.12 lakh to Akshaya Patra this February.

Shridhar Venkat, CEO of The Akshaya Patra Foundation conveyed the organisation’s happiness over the venture saying, “We appreciate the philanthropic values of Saavn and thank them for #MusicForMeals. This initiative by Saavn will help in serving meals to many underserved children on school days, helping them with an opportunity to attend school, focus and learn.”