Disaster always calls for urgent measures. At times like this the country stands up to support those stricken by the tragedy and often support pours in from all corners. On the other hand, this is also a time, when people want to help but don’t know how or where to contribute and help. A fair section of those who give at this time end up getting disappointed, as they never hear about what happened to their money. That’s where organizations like ours step in to make a difference.

Akshaya Patra has been swift to respond to the need of the hour, helping victims of unfortunate tragedies. The recent example is of the floods in the Bellary district. Between 29 September-1 October 2009, Bellary district experienced heavy rains, which damaged agricultural fields, flooded the region, destroyed houses, and resulted in loss of life. The distriction administration reached out to Akshaya Patra on 2 October 2009, asking us to supply food for 10,000 people in the flood-affected areas of Bellary and Shirguppa Taluka.

While we geared up to meet the challenge in our kitchens, we knew that access to the people affected would not be easy! The villages were badly affected and the condition of the roads made the interiors inaccessible. However we rose to the challenge and began preparing the food immediately. We carried it to the concerned locations and were delivering it till 11 p.m. on the same day.

In the meantime, we had had further requests to from the Government of Karnataka to make 5000 food packets each for Mantralayam (AP State), where pepople from Karnataka were trapped in the different guest rooms, struggling for life and food; and for Shiraguppa Taluka. These food packets were taken from the Jindal Airport and loaded in the three Indian Airforce helicopters, which took them forward for distribution.

Akshaya Patra continued to feed the people of the flood-affected areas for three days, serving lemon rice or vegetable pulao for lunch and rice, sambhar, and yogurt in the evenings. Our regular school meal vehicles were used for this operation. On 4 October, we distributed another 20,000 food packets through the Indian Air force and Army helicopters to the neighboring districts of Bagalkot, Bijapur, and the Shiragoppa Taluka, in all sending 42,000 food packets.

Standing up for the nation and our people, makes us reflect on the all-important purpose for our existence. We work hard to ensure that children across India, don’t lose out on education because of hunger. Our robust systems and technology has enabled us to feed over a million children everyday. Standing for the spirit of upliftment of society, we are honored to have been the chosen partners for the food distribution activity during this disaster. Our kitchens, cooks, drivers, and all our staff members rose to the occasion, meeting the extra food demand for food, with courage in their hearts and one determination – to get the vessel of Akshaya Patra to supply “unlimited food” to those affected!

If you would like to support Akshaya Patra’s endeavors, please visit our website today.

7:00 AM I slipped into a pair of over sized slippers, tucked my hair into a shower cap, and stepped into the hot and steamy kitchen, where human-sized cauldrons full of rice and sambhar were brewing. On my right, several large metal baskets were being filled with the exact same quantity of rice at the simple press of a button. Workers carried these containers and placed them under a row of faucets, where pressurized water filled the bowls and cleansed the rice. I turned back around to see water gush out from the bottom of the cauldrons. Clearly, the rice was being drained and it was ready to be packed.

7:15 AM An aromatic smell was coming from the room on my right. I followed the smell into the area next door and my mouth salivated at the sight of a large bath full of sambhar with metal pipes protruding outwards from it. Vast amounts of sambhar emerged from the pipes and drained perfectly into steel pots below. I looked back up at the large bath and there were almost no traces of sambhar left. The steel pots sat on a conveyor belt and I tracked the containers as they moved into a room on the left. I watched in amazement as the belt transported dozens of tightly packed stainless steel vessels to custom-built Akshaya Patra trucks.

7:30 AM I looked at the clock on my wrist and the large hand was close to the “6.” The trucks had just revved their engines and started to drive away. They were on route to schools within 50 kilometers of the kitchen with enough food for 5,000 children packed in the back of their vehicles. Inside the kitchen, the workers acted in a mechanized fashion to swiftly move the pots and steam-clean every inch of the kitchen. Usha (an Akshaya Patra representative) then escorted me outside, and as we walked towards the dining hall she started telling me about the intelligently engineered kitchens.

India has double the rate of malnutrition of sub-Saharan Africa. Indian children enlist in menial jobs just so they can earn enough money to have one solid meal a day. As a result, about 13.5 million children in India do not attend school. Numerous studies have shown that education is the single most powerful factor that can take an entire family out of the poverty cycle, and within one generation, education can significantly improve one’s quality of life.

Akshaya Patra helps underprivileged children by serving one healthy, balanced mid-day meal at school and thus incentivizes children to continue their education. Akshaya Patra has become the largest mid-day meal program in the world and currently serves food to about 1.2 million children in India everyday.

I think it is truly incredible how just Akshaya Patra has such widespread impact on many different areas of society, such as health, education, gender inequality, and poverty, with just one solution- serving mid-day meals to school children. The government schools have measured Akshaya Patra’s impact and they have seen an increase in school enrollment, an increase in attendance, an increase in school performance, and a reduction in dropout rates. Additionally, malnutrition has decreased and socialization among all social castes has increased..

I visited on a Tuesday morning and tasted the mouth-watering khichidi, sabzi, and sambhar that would be served to the school children later that day. It was so tasty that I asked for more and more servings. I think it is absolutely amazing how Akshaya Patra has utilized technology to consistently provide such delicious and nutritious food to starving children. Now, I wonder what Akshaya Patra has in store for the future…