A dedicated fleet of spic and span delivery vehicles painted in blue is a sight to catch at all Akshaya Patra kitchens. These blue vehicles are not just a medium of transporting cooked food for children; rather it is a ray of hope for millions of children in over 10,000 Government schools across 9 states. Started as a charity in Bangalore, Akshaya Patra had only one kitchen back in 2000. By operating in a Public-Private Partnership model this NGO it has Centralised Kitchens in 20 locations and Decentralised Kitchens in two locations. One major challenge the NGO faced in its initial year was transportation of the cooked meals to the schools. At this time, Mohandas Pai took the initiative of donating the first delivery vehicle. This speaks of itself about the importance of this delivery fleet in the entire process of implementing the mid-day meal programme.
Every morning over 550 blue vehicles leave Akshaya Patra kitchen premises carrying freshly cooked nutritious food for children across all locations. For many it must be a regular sight on the road but only the beneficiary of the meal knows its real value and only the carrier of the food knows the importance of delivering the meal on time. These vehicles are custom-designed to retain the freshness of the meal. The vehicles have insulated body with honeycomb structured racks to ensure maximum space utilisation and avoid spillage.
All the Akshaya Patra kitchens have washing bays where the vehicles are washed and steam sterilised regularly. The fleet undergoes periodic chemical treatment process with food grade chemicals to ensure cleanliness, hygiene thereby ensuring that the vehicles are free of any contamination. Regular monitoring of vehicles and third party checks are a part of all Akshaya Patra kitchens. Cumbersome traffic, bad roads or any similar event does not pose a hindrance when it comes to delivering food for children. A team of committed drivers and coordinators, on time departure of the fleet of delivery vehicles, route optimisation, at hand - back-up plan and GPS devices makes sure that there is no breakdown in the process.
Akshaya Patra is thankful to all the donors who made having this blue fleet a possibility. Not only as charity in Bangalore, benevolent donors have time and again helped the NGO by donating delivery vehicles in other locations too. Akshaya Patra welcomes you to be a part of the charity in Bangalore or any of its other serving locations based on your preference.
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