Children are
the foundation on which the future of a nation is built. The Akshaya Patra
Foundation strengthens this base by implementing the Government of India’s Mid-Day Meal Scheme. The Foundation
feeds nutritious school meals to over 1.8 million children studying in 19,039
Government schools and Government-aided schools every day. Hygienically cooked
meals are prepared from centralised and decentralised kitchens from 52
locations spread across 12 States and 2 Union Territories.
To know about all the Akshaya Patra kitchens serving
mid-day meals in India, click here.
Mid-day meals
are a great intervention to help children take a step forward towards their
education. Quality and hygiene are top priorities during the whole process of
feeding children – starting from procuring of raw materials to taking feedback
on the quality of meals. Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) are implemented
in all kitchens to prepare, handle, and deliver meals. The best raw materials
are procured after implementing the Supplier Quality Management System (SQMS). By
the use of 304 Grade stainless steel in its kitchens, meals are cooked in
vessels that can endure high temperature levels to ensure that hot meals reach
the children on a daily basis.
To know more about the ISO Certified Kitchens, click
here.
What is the impact of mid-day meals on children?
Mid-day meals
have a long-term effect on children. When you donate online, you bring out the best in them in the following
manner:
·
Mid-day meals fill a child’s stomach and with a full stomach,
children concentrate better without any diversions in class. School lunches
help in eliminating classroom hunger.
·
When there is an increased attention-span in school, grades of
children improve automatically.
·
Regular school meals become a reason for children to come back to
school every day. This becomes a source for them to continue their education as
well.
·
Mid-day meals when consumed on a daily basis, become a source of
healthy development in children which gives them hope to dream like other
children.
Here is a short story of the children who go to schools in anticipation
of mid-day meals.
Children sit
in the classroom; some rubbing their eyes, some yawning, one child asking
doubts to another and some trying to concentrate hard on the teacher’s voice. Some
of their stomachs growl with hunger and some of them are unable to concentrate
in class because of the rats running in their stomachs.
All children wait
for the faintest sound of the peon walking towards the bell. Their ears stand
up on the onset of the lunch break bell. Chaos sets in with the ‘yeayy’ of
children. All of them frantically close their books and run towards the blue
delivery vans that have just finished unloading their food. They all line up
for their plates in a systematic order, one behind the other without hitting or
pushing one another, waiting for their turn to be served with hot and yummy
food. They sit together with their friends, classmates, juniors and seniors and
savour their school meals like one big family.
Once they are
done, they are all back to their classes where a few of them concentrate in
class while others engage in co-curricular activities and the rest take part in
physical activities.
To read stories of children, click here.
You too can
support the feeding of children to bring the excitement and smiles on their
faces. Your support can feed unlimited food for education to children with
Akshaya Patra.
Share this article within your circle of family and friends to
help us in feeding 5 million children every day, by 2025.
With the
onset of the unprecedented Coronavirus disaster, Akshaya
Patra is working towards providing food relief to daily-wage workers, labourers
and the marginalised sections of the society, with cooked meals and essential
kits. To help the people in distress, click here to donate.
To make a mid-day meal donation, click here.
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