Tuesday, 3 March 2020

How Akshaya Patra Foundation Feeds Over 1.8 Million Children Every Day?

1.8 million+ children!

Is it really possible to feed so many children in 1 single day?

Indeed, it is a humongous task but if the entire community works in unison with a children charity or an NGO, it is achievable.

One such NGO is The Akshaya Patra Foundation which is registered as a not-for-profit organisation under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882. It implements the Mid-Day Meal Scheme across 12 States and 2 Union Territories of India.

Akshaya Patra was started in the year 2000 by feeding 1,500 children in Bengaluru, Karnataka. As of today, it feeds 18,02,517 children studying in 16,856 Government and Government-aided schools located in 51 locations across India. It works with a vision that ‘No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger.’ The Foundation aims to feed 5 million children by 2025.

But how does Akshaya Patra aim to accomplish those numbers?

AkshayaPatra provides freshly cooked, nutritious mid-day meals to children in order to help them in their overall development. The Foundation operates from 52 kitchens out of which, 50 kitchens are Centralized kitchens and 2 are Decentralized kitchens.

Centralized kitchen

Centralized kitchens are present in 50 locations of India and have a capacity to feed 25,000 to 1,00,000 meals a day. These kitchens are located in urban and semi-urban areas.

Decentralized Kitchen

A decentralized kitchen is set up in locations that are remote and not easily accessible. Such kitchens do not have a great connectivity which makes it difficult to set up a large infrastructure. It is operated by women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and monitored by Akshaya Patra supervisors.

Mid-day meals have several benefits

It might sound like a small school lunch for many of us, but it makes a huge difference in the lives of children who come from challenging backgrounds where having a square meal once a day is an achievement. This is why parents of such children rely on school mid-day meals. Mid-day meals benefit children in different ways:

Put the below points in smart art form.

· It improves nutritional levels in children who consume mid-day meals. Mid-day meals are packed with nutritional content.

· It increases the rate of school enrolment since a school lunch can act as a catalyst in bringing back children to school every day

· It increases their attention span and helps them focus better in their classrooms

· It ensures proper cognitive and physical development of children studying in schools

· It helps in reducing the school drop-out rates

You can help children by sponsoring their school lunches at ₹1100 and help them enjoy locally palatable meals for an entire academic year. You can contribute directly to help school children or by taking part in various volunteering opportunities available with Akshaya Patra.