Three months ago we started an initiative to bring children back to schools after a long summer break. We called it #HungryForSchool. Millions of children look forward to their free mid-day meal at school provided by Akshaya Patra. We did not want to disappoint them when it was time for schools to reopen. That’s why we went all out and sought your support too. And how did we fare? Here’s a progress report on #HungryForSchool.

Name: #HungryForSchool

Class: Standard I to Standard X

School: Every school where we provide mid-day meals

Enthusiasm: A+

There was no dearth of enthusiasm! We were overwhelmed by the response we got through this initiative. People following us on various social media platforms liked our work, shared it, encouraged us and contributed too! We thank everyone for the super support!

Facebook Likes: A+

If ‘likes’ are anything to go by, we have made a great impression. During this period our likes shot up by close to 12,000!

Tweets: A

Famous personalities like Deepak Chopra endorsed our efforts and shared one of our videos. It gave us a good spurt of momentum. We thank him and many others for their efforts.

Donations: A+

This was the ultimate litmus test. The number of donations increased and more importantly, we had many people pledging their support for the program. This in itself was a positive sign for us.

Awareness: A++

Many people did not know of the connection between food and education. Through #HungryForSchool we not only educated people, but also turned them into our ambassadors.

That’s what our progress report on #HungryForSchool says. On the whole, it was extremely satisfactory, but we believe that we have a long way to go. To reach our mission of feeding 5 million children by 2020 and educate more children, we need your support. Click here to know how you can help.

Our vision at Akshaya Patra is that ‘No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger’ and we have taken it as our mission to reach 5 million children by 2020.

A vision of this magnitude requires thinking and functioning far beyond the traditional approach. We have identified and are committed to innovation as the route to reach there. Not any innovation, but Orbit Shifting Innovation™. We are partnering with the best innovation mind in the industry, Erehwon Innovation Consulting – a pioneering innovation consulting firm that has developed Orbit Shifting Innovation™, as a methodology over the past 22 years through cutting edge research and engagements with several corporates around the world.

Akshaya Patra and Erehwon have begun a journey to institutionalise and embed innovation into the DNA of Akshaya Patra such that innovation becomes the ‘Defining’ and ‘Driving’ element in the working and functioning of the organisation. Through this journey, Akshaya Patra will expand its innovation portfolio in strategy and operations, embed innovation practices and rhythms into the organisation, and build the right structures and capability.

The first leg of the journey begins with setting up an institutional design for innovation and transforming the operations of our kitchens. As we get started, watch this space for more updates!