Akshaya Patra – Unlimited Food For Education

It was 6 o’clock in the morning on a warm, beautiful day when I was whisked off to Hare Krishna Hill in Bangalore, India. In the distance the silhouette of the ISKON temple was distinctly outlined against the morning sky. After a short drive up the hill, we arrived at a collection of large buildings with the aromatic smell of food drifting in the air. I am Shubha Jagannath, 14 years of age, born and brought up in San Jose, California. I came to HK Hill to visit the renowned Akshaya Patra Foundation, a massive force that feeds 1.3 million needy children across India every day. I had heard about this organisation through my family and was intrigued about how they accomplish this herculean task so efficiently. I got the wonderful opportunity to visit the kitchen from a relative and couldn’t wait to see how they carried out such a massive operation.

The Kitchen

Soon as I entered the kitchen I was surrounded by an amazing sight. Sparkling metal containers were filled to the brim with steaming Bisi Bele Bhaat and vegetables. Men in bright blue hair nets tirelessly ran around adding vegetables and stirring the food. We were introduced to Mr Kunjabihari who offered to show us around. Astounding 1 lakh children are fed daily from that single kitchen. The employees were working from midnight to complete the task of cooking and delivering food in time for so many schools while the rest of us were asleep. The dedication and work-ethic of those who are working in the kitchen is really inspiring.

As Mr. Kunjabihari continued to show us around, we found that the kitchen was not only a place with marvelous people, but also a place with many technological marvels. Innovations were made to make the food faster and more hygienic. Roti making machines, vegetable cutters powered by BMW motors, and steam-powered cooking were a few of the many amazing equipment there. The kitchen was in the most hygienic condition possible. Workers constantly cleaned the containers and Mr. Kunjabihari later told us that until this day they haven’t gotten even a single complaint about a hair in the food! This is quite fantastic for a problem that occurs so often in our own kitchens. The quality of the food was another wonder. Mr. Kunjabihari explained how each ingredient was thoroughly tested before being used in the meal, and how each food sample was also tested to insure that harmful materials are absent.

As it got closer to delivery time, the mouth-watering Bisi Bele Bhaat and sweet were packed into sterilized steamed containers and loaded in the colourful Akshaya Patra vans. The vans are equipped with gadgets like tracking devices and sensors to ensure that the doors are closed properly and so that the food reaches the schools safely. And after being loaded, the vans swiftly drove off to deliver to the eagerly waiting children.

(To know about Shubha’s school visit, click here)

Akshaya Patra is the world’s largest School lunch Programme feeding 1.3 million children daily by using technology extensively. Akshaya Patra believes in making efficient use of energy in an eco-friendly and sustainable manner to feed children at such a large scale. It not only helps in utilising resources in a cost effective manner, but also supports in creating better ecological balance.

On World Environment Day, Akshaya Patra reaffirms its pledge of practising environment friendly methods. Akshaya Patra has already adopted such methods. Kitchens at Bellary and Bangalore have replaced gas stoves with Oorja stoves which use biomass pellets as fuel. The biomass smokeless stove has a chamber for burning briquettes, a mini-fan powered by rechargeable batteries and controlled by a regulator which blows air to fan the flames. This initiative has helped in minimizing fuel cost by 50%. The stove is largely used to prepare seasoning for sambar.

LED lights have also been installed in some of the kitchens. LED (Light Emitting Diodes) are solid light bulbs which are extremely energy efficient.

Recycling of water is done to make efficient use of water using Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP). In order to address concerns of hygiene, everything that is procured is thoroughly washed. This includes rice, vegetables and lentils. The water used for washing contains nutrients and is used for bio-culture. Waste water is also used for washing vehicles used to transport the food.

Recently, with an intention to employ renewable sources of energy, Akshaya Patra has decided to install Bio Oorja. Once fully operational, the biogas plant is expected to produce about 40-50 kg of biogas and will consume about 1000 kg of waste. Akshaya Patra has opted for ‘Bio Oorja’ – a waste management technology that uses modified biogas plant to produce biogas to be used in Oorja stoves.

Support Akshaya Patra to take more such initiatives in preparing mid-day meal to feed school children.