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Hanume waiting in line for his lunch
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Hanume appears to be a born leader as he directs and aids his classmates around the metal shop. Like any twenty-something pursuing his studies, he has many aspirations in life. Currently in his second and final year at the Technical Training Center for Deaf in Bangalore, Hanume plans to get a job after his course completion and become an earning member of his family. As the eldest and only son, his responsibilities are many. Though his father is a farmer in the mainly agricultural district of Mandya, in Karnataka, Hanume hopes to work with computers to support his family. After finishing the second year, he wants to train further in the subject and work in the IT industry.  </p>
<p style=”text-align: justify;”><img style=”float: right; margin: 10px; border: 0px;” src=”http://www.akshayapatra.org/sites/default/files/images/industrial_traning_img2.jpg” title=”A Boon for Hearing Impaired” border=”0″ alt=””  />
Stories like his have echoed through the silent classrooms of the training institute for nearly 25 years. Hearing impaired children from across India come to this Center for the Deaf to receive the National Trade Certificate that will give them employment opportunities. Many previous students, like Y.L. Harsha are already placed in some of the leading companies of the country. His younger brother, Jagadish, is also training at the institute now and hopes to follow in his brother’s footsteps. </p>
<p>Currently there are over 80 students at the Center, which faces many challenges in its day to day operations. As Mrs. Gloria William, Managing Trustee explains, funds are not always adequate to meet the institute’s requirements. Some students find it especially difficult staying in a temporary hostel on the premises. Food is often an area of concern. </p>
<p style=”text-align: justify;”><img style=”float: left; margin: 10px; border: 0px;” src=”http://www.akshayapatra.org/sites/default/files/images/industrial_traning_img1.jpg” title=”A Boon for Hearing Impaired” border=”0″ alt=””  />
“We came up with a makeshift hostel arrangement out of need. Some students didn’t have the finances for accommodation outside, so we decided to provide them with a place to stay.  But the children still have to manage their own food,” she says.
One aspect of her worries for the Institute is now resolved. Starting this 27th of December, Akshaya Patra, with the support of ABB, a leader in power and automation technologies, will be providing mid-day meals at the Institute on a regular basis. The meals will be particularly helpful for those students who are currently staying at the hostel. </p>
<p>“We have two shifts in the school: one which starts at 8:30 a.m. for the second years, and another which starts at 10:00 in the morning for the first years. Many of these children come to school early, often without breakfast, so this one meal will be extremely helpful,” says Mrs. William. </p>

The state-of-the-art kitchens of The Akshaya Patra Foundation have a character of their own. Of the many factors that derive its character, the most significant is – “the journey of a million smiles begins here”. These kitchens not only cook food for 1.3 million children; but they also cook a serving of happiness with each meal. This is the reason we call our kitchens “The Happiness Factory”.

There is a story behind every meal we cook. In order to continue this journey of smiles, Akshaya Patra ensures that there is no compromise on quality and hygiene at any point, right from procurement of raw materials to delivery of the hot nutritious food. Kitchens of Akshaya Patra employ various measures to ensure hygiene, quality, and variety of meals of served, along with increasing the efficiency of kitchen process. Some of the key measures are:

• To ensure fresh food is supplied, efficiency concepts such as Kaizen, 5S and Six Sigma are adopted at the kitchens, which also results in increased capacity of producing up to 1,50,000 nutritious meals a day.
• To ensure cost effectiveness, food items like grains and spices are sourced through central procurement teams, while perishable food items like vegetables, fruits and dairy products are sourced locally.
• To ensure that the food is prepared hygienically, Total Quality Management (TQM) tools are used to comply with the ISO 22000:2005 Food Safety and Management System Standards.
• Furthermore, hygiene is ensured through minimal human handling of food.
• Meals are prepared as per regional preferences ensuring, that the nutritious food served is also tasty to the palette.
• Desserts and sweets are served during special occasions – a sweetened rice pudding- Pongal, in South India and a milk based dessert, Kheer is served to the children in North India.

At Akshaya Patra, the commitment to perform with precision has become plausible through technical marvels such as:

• Rice cauldron that cooks close to 100kgs of fresh rice every 20 minutes.
• Sambar cauldron has the capacity of 1200 litres that can feed 6000 children.
• 27 varieties of sambar recipes are available for the children.
• Vegetables in the sambar are minced thoroughly to make it chewable for the tiny tots.
• The roti making machine that can produce up to 60,000 rotis in an hour. 
• Pilferage avoided through monitoring the delivery of the food to schools. Global Positioning Devices (GPS) have been installed in the meal delivery vehicles.
• Vehicles are heat insulated, dust free and can deliver 1,50,000 meals within 6 hours.