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.

It’s the 20th Anniversary of the World Wide Web! It indeed marks a true milestone in the history of Internet. Alongside it also marks a celebration of the positive impact World Wide Web has made in the lives of innumerable humans. Internet is the most ubiquitous order of the day. It is the inexplicable extensive reach of the Internet that makes it increasingly significant in today’s fast-paced and knowledge-seeking generation.

The Web has become a communication platform where a visitor can share opinions and engage in discussions on varied topics. Every organisation, despite its realm of work, feels the need to be present on the Internet and is competing for online space and presence. Web technologies are used to generate better business by increasing footprints of organisations in online space to achieve their core objectives. The Web also has the potential to spread awareness globally about various causes that different non-profits are working for.

We at The Akshaya Patra Foundation are putting an effort to harness the effectiveness of Internet technology to spread awareness about the cause we are working for. Akshaya Patra is an Indian NGO started in Bangalore, Karnataka in June 2000. Today, it implements the mid-day meal programme in Government schools across 9 states of India namely Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Currently, it provides mid-day meal to 1.3 million children covering over 9000 Government schools. The vision of the Foundation is “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger”. It aims to feed 5 million children by 2020.

The vastness of its mission drives the Foundation to reach out to more and more people across the globe. It has a dedicated Akshaya Patra official website which makes available all the information related to the Foundation. Akshaya Patra also employs Social Networking as a medium to spread the word. It is present in six of the popular social networking platforms-Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+. Apart from these Social Networking sites it is also present in many Social Book Marking sites. These platforms act as supporting mediums to the official website.  They become a quick spot for visitors to get updates on latest advancements, news, events and also to browse through photo and video galleries. It also provides an option to the visitor to share information about the Foundation ‘on the go’.

Interestingly, as you are reading, this article too has become a part of the Internet. The power of Internet lies in the hands of the user. If harnessed strategically it can yield results in a way that can change the world for the better. The increase of Akshaya Patra’s footprint in online space will prove to be of significant benefit to millions of needy children in the country. Make use of your social networking skills to support and encourage numerous children who dream to achieve big in life.

Be a part of Akshaya Patra’s Social Networking. Join us on