Mid-day meal’s Role in Bringing School Drop-outs Back to Class

It is Wednesday – that day of the week when the children are allowed a day off from their uniforms. There is unusual silence in the school; the students are busy writing their half-yearly examinations, at the Government Higher Primary School Boovanhalli.  As the time inches towards 1 o’ clock, a few students trickle out of the examination hall, and in a matter of minutes the ringing of the school bell ensures the children come out of the classrooms for lunch.

The teachers are ready. They have opened large steel vessels of rice and sambhar. The children begin to queue for their share of the mid-day meal. There are friendly pushes as each child is eager to get his share faster than the other. G Shahabuddin, one of the teachers says, “The children have benefited from the mid-day meal programme. Parents of most children leave early for work and return only late in the evening. So not every child is able to get lunch, hence it is this mid-day meal which ensures that children don’t go hungry.”

A conversation with the teachers reveals that children drop out of school due to various reasons. Renuka, a Kannada teacher at the school says, “During the census when we find that there are considerable numbers of children who are school drop outs, we conduct a summer camp called ‘chinnara angala’.  In this camp we talk to the parents and convince them that in spite of the difficulties at home, it is their responsibility to ensure that the children attend school. We also tell them about the mid-day meal programme and the other facilities that are being extended in the government school.”

A framed picture of the principal receiving an award from former President of India, A.P.J Abdul Kalam adorns the wall of the staff room. The teachers brim with pride, they explain that the principal of the school received the President’s Award for his contribution to the field of education.  When asked about the mid-day meal programme, he says, “Earlier we used to cook the mid-day meal at the school premises. Though the children enjoyed the food, it was a huge responsibility on us to ensure that the food is cooked on time, the vegetables are bought, cleaned and stored, the vessels are washed, etc. But today, with Akshaya Patra providing the cooked mid-day meal, we have to only supervise the serving. The food is good, regular feedbacks are taken by supervisors, so we have nothing to worry. All is well.”

It is the cumulative effort of schools like this that has resulted in the literacy rate of nearly 75% * in the district of Bellary in Karnataka. The school’s enrolment data shows that 900 children are studying this academic year, 443 girls and 457 boys attend school regularly. A few will drop out of school by the time they reach grade 10, but there will be many who will continue to study. Most will opt to continue their studies in ITI and Diploma courses. The teachers of this school in Toranagallu will continue to praise the students who have passed out of the school and today are role models for their juniors.  For many of them, Akshaya Patra meal has been the most filling and nutritious meal of the day. What makes the meal special? In their words, “sudta ide”, which translates into- “the meal is always piping hot.”

*As per provisional results of the Census of 2011Aks

Akshaya Patra Mid Day Meal Inspiring Students Across Borders

A group of 21 MBA students from Mandalay University were on a business study tour to Bangalore with the aim to learn and take back with them some new ideas on doing business. This tour was a part of their 12 day training programme in India that was initiated by the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore and the Myanmar government. 

Their visit to Bangalore was packed with lectures by professors of IIM on varied topics including management. Field tours were organized to visit prominent Bangalore based corporate campuses like Infosys, Biocon, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Himalaya Pharmaceuticals, 3M and Akshaya Patra Foundation.

The visits to the campuses of these organizations instilled lot of inspiration among the student group.  An MBA student, Phyo Myintzu said, “I want to introduce information and communication technology in the retail sector of my company",

Win Aung, was highly inspired by the work of The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Currently a member of the German-Myanmar Friendship Foundation, an NGO that works on education and community development, Win Aung certainly would have experienced a common cord between both the organizations. Win Aung said, "I am really inspired by the whole idea of providing free food to 1.3 million poor children. I want to launch a similar initiative back home".  

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Akshaya Patra receives Win Aung’s statement as recognition for their decade long efforts of feeding and educating the future of India. The Foundation is happy that it is able to inspire and motivate students across the borders. This incident reinstated further the vision of the Foundation, “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger”; and the mission of reaching out to 5 million children by 2020.

Akshaya Patra’s role in countering classroom hunger

Schooldays”- what are the many emotions that you can correspond with this word? Do you remember the class that used to be scheduled just before the lunch break? Most of us eagerly waited for the lunch bell to ring! Lest we realized during those days that it was primarily “classroom hunger”. Classroom hunger is a persistent situation. It is so critical that it has the potential to starve the learning mind of a child.

Classroom hunger results in lack of concentration, poor performance, and shrunk aspiration among children. To add to this state of affairs there are many children for whom even one single meal a day is a matter of chance. Even though these children have the will to learn, zeal to manifold their skills, and the determination to achieve, it is hunger that fizzle out all their hope. All they need is an opportunity, support and a meal that will feed the hungry stomach and allow the mind to think beyond food.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an Indian NGO works towards countering classroom hunger and nourishing the learning mind. It has been conferred as the world’s largest NGO-run mid-day meal programme. The Foundation is tirelessly working towards reaching out to more and more children across the length and breadth of India. Currently it feeds 1.3 million children everyday, in over 9000 Government and Government-aided schools across 19 locations of 9 Indian states. With the aim of reaching 5 million children in 2020, the Foundation is steadily spreading its operational activities around the country.

Here is a story of a little girl which describes the impact of countering classroom hunger:

Roja loves to spend time and chit-chat with her mother. Roja’s mother works as a domestic help. So, on Sundays when Roja has holiday, she accompanies her mother. Roja smiles as she says, “I go along with my mother because this way I can spend my Sunday with her.” As her father is a contract painter, he keeps travelling to different cities. To this Roja says, “It’s during such times that I miss my father.” An ambitious child, Roja wants to become a software engineer. She wants to score well in English as she fittingly opines, “In today’s world being fluent in English is very important.”

During her regular school days, her mother leaves home by six in the morning because of which Roja, her two sisters and her little brother comes to the Government school without having breakfast. She says, “I have got used to skipping breakfast but I love the afternoon food served in the school especially the rasam and rice.” This is one of the many schools where Akshaya Patra is providing mid-day meal to the children. This is also one hot meal that helps children like Roja beat classroom hunger. Here the benefit of the mid-day meal is threefold- Roja in particular and children in general are first getting a nutritious meal to feed the hungry stomach, second it is enabling them to aspire high and third they are attaining the self-confidence of expressing their opinions. 

Akshaya Patra Mid Day Meal Beneficiary Mallika Achieving her Dreams

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Mallika is a Grade 7 student from GMPS Doddakalsandra, Bangalore. She is adored by her sisters and grandmother. She is one of the brightest kids in the family of 10. Her sisters were forced to discontinue their studies and start earning for the family. But her sisters are supportive when it comes to Mallika’s education.

One of them says, “There are times when we wish we had continued our education because we know that we could have led a better life than what we are leading at the moment. But we weren’t lucky enough. But we don’t want our little sister to face the same fate. We will help her continue her education as much as possible.”

Her mother too insists that Mallika needs to concentrate on her studies rather than be forced to do any household work. Mallika also puts forth her ambition and says, “I want to study and become a doctor to help the needy.”

Her aunt says, “For Mallika, her studies, her school, her teachers have always been the subject of any conversation at home.  She says, “Going to school has made me more confident of my abilities. I know I can achieve my dreams if I put in all the effort.

Earlier my English was poor. But the constant encouragement and guidance from my teachers has helped me improve.  I sometimes correct my sisters.” She pauses for a smile and then adds, “I have also learnt that we need to treat everybody with equality.”

Mallika is one of the beneficiaries of Akshaya Patra meal. Stories like these are the source of motivation for Akshaya Patra to reach out to more and more children in India in a steady pace.

Akshaya Patra Providing Unlimited Food for Education in Govt. Schools

“What’s in a meal?” or “What can a meal do?” The immediate answer is- it can fill a hungry stomach. Have we ever thought what else a meal can do? Often we have not. But, The Akshaya Patra Foundation gave an earnest thought to it. It realized that the goodness and potential of one meal goes far beyond just filling a hungry stomach; it reaches out till the generations that are yet to come.

It’s a fact that a hungry stomach cannot think of anything else but food. So, unless this basic need is met, it is evident that an individual cannot think of future goals. For the mind to think beyond food, the stomach has to be full. The same rule applies when it comes to learning or education. If we need a child to get educated, we need to first feed the child. For this reason, if a child is provided school lunch, it will simultaneously aid in furthering the cause.  This is where Akshaya Patra comes to fore. It works towards providing unlimited food for education.

Akshaya Patra provides school lunch to Government school students on every school working days through its mid-day meal programme. The inception of the Foundation dates back to June 2000. 12 years of its successful journey can be seen in its achievements and future plans. The crystal clear focus on its aim of reaching more and more children is evident in its current reach of 1.3 million children across India.

Here is an anecdote of a little boy that tells the power of one wholesome meal:                

Sunny Kheralia, a 13 year old from Rajasthan is a grade 7 student. His is a large family comprising of 3 brothers and 1 sister. His father works as a sweeper in a local hospital earning a very low salary of around Rs. 3000 per month.  Sunny is a brilliant student and has been scoring very high grades in his academics. He takes up his studies sincerely and enjoys the meal at school. An Akshaya Patra meal beneficiary he says, “I enjoy eating the noon meal provided by the Akshaya Patra Foundation.”

Sunny has grown up seeing his father sweeping the hospital corridor everyday. But with the education he has been receiving he hopes to bring in a welcome change in the family and especially in his father’s life. Sunny aspires to be a doctor and work in the same hospital where his father is working currently. This instance evidently brings forth the benefit of education, and potential of one wholesome meal, in transforming a society for better.

Akshaya Patra Foundation Improves its Kitchen Facilities

It needs no introduction. An entry into Limca Book of World Records; appreciation from none other than US President Barack Obama and its work as a case study at Harvard University! The latest addition to its achievements — churning out 40,000 rotis for children in just one hour.

Akshaya Patra Foundation, which runs the world’s largest school-meal programme, has improved its kitchen services by increasing the number of rotis produced to meet the requirement of children. The ‘roti machine’, which was first introduced in 2004 in Brindavan, had a massive task ahead of them. The foundation, which reaches 11.86 lakh children across the country, had made thousands of rotis for kids in North India.

“In that part of the country, children asked for rotis instead of rice. And preparing so many rotis requires more manpower. So we bought the unique machine,” said Vyomapada Das, who is looking after the kitchen at Bhilai.

HUNT ON FOR BETTER MACHINE

After Das and his colleague found that the roti-making machine in Amritsar was expensive, they decided to hunt for a similar machine at a reasonable rate. Luckily, they came across a person who could make ‘desi’ style rotis. After negotiation, they paid  Rs.12 lakh for it.

But there was a problem. The machine produced 10,000 rotis per hour while the requirement was to feed 5,000 children. “We tried to solve the problem, and we found out we needed six such machines within a space of 10,000 sqft. It would cost us between Rs 60-70 lakh,” said Narasimha Das, who is in charge of Brindavan kitchen.

When the team contacted the same machine supplier, the latter couldn’t improve the production count. “Then we contacted companies in the US and Holland. A firm in Holland suggested to increase the width of the oven from 0.9 m to 1.2 m and to increase the speed to 12 m per minute. The oven portion was also extended so that rotis can be fully cooked,” said Narasimha Das.

Aiding Akshaya Patra to feed 5 million children by 2020

“India cannot fully develop its economic potential until all of its children receive a proper education” was said by Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys Technologies, in a Fundraising event of The Akshaya Patra Foundation held at Milpitas, California, United States, on 17 November 2012. Murthy also sits on the advisory board of the Akshaya Patra Foundation USA.

Speaking to India-West before the evening event at the India Community Center in Milpitas, Murthy said, “One of the most important ingredients needed for the success of our country is inclusivity through education. Every Indian is excited about this concept,” adding, “We must bring the power of education to every poor child in India. It is our path to global progress.”

With the vision of “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger”, Akshaya Patra was founded in 2000 in Bangalore, India. The Foundation serves a daily school lunch under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme to 1.3 million low-income children in Government schools. Presently operating in 20 locations across 9 states in India, it reaches out to 9075 schools.

The meals are prepared in state-of-the-art ISO-certified kitchen facilities and cater to local palate. The programme aims to encourage more children to attend school and is aiming to scale up to be able to serve 5 million children by the year 2020. The organizers of the Milpitas event mentioned Akshaya Patra’s milestone achievement of recently crossing the one billion mark for serving meals.

“India has been making spectacular growth,” he said, noting that the country’s gross domestic product was growing by five percent. Foreign direct investment in India has risen to $30 billion, said Murthy, adding that the country was also “number one” in telecom services throughout the world. “But there is another India which is untouched by this spectacular growth,” said the Indian entrepreneur, noting that 700 million Indians live without proper sanitation and 280 million live without regular water supplies.

It is certain that the fund raised will be of significant aid in the progress towards achieving the mission of Akshaya Patra; thereby helping the Foundation in achieving its vision. Akshaya Patra sincerely thanks all the donors and the organisers of the event.

Akshaya Patra Mid Day Meal beneficiary Apoorva Inspiring Other Students

Teachers at the Karnataka Vidya Vardaka (K VV) High School are all praises for Apoorva M. The 10th grade student topped the school at the Karnataka State Board SSLC examinations with a score of 95.2%. The teachers say, “Apoorva is not only excellent in academics, she is a good orator too. She usually wins essay writing competitions, elocution, debate and other competitions not only at the school level but also at the inter-school level.

Apoorva says she enjoys studying as much as she enjoys participating in competitions.  She studied everyday for four hours and that’s why she didn’t find the examinations tough. She says, “The teachers also made a reference to the previous year’s question papers and that helped us to get us acquainted with the kind of questions that would appear.”

The Akshaya Patra Foundation provides the mid day meal to the government aided private schools like KVV. Apoorva says, “I enjoy the mid-day meal as it is tasty. It actually refreshes us; we are all the more energetic and look forward to the afternoon classes.”

Even with financial difficulties back home, Apoorva looks ahead positively. She is ambitious and wants to become a doctor. Akshaya Patra is supporting Apoorva to realize her dream through Ananth Akshaya Education Initiative Scholarship.

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Akshaya Patra Providing Food for Children in India

There are various NGOs working towards various issues in India and around the world related to child rights, empowerment, social development, health and nutrition, education, and the like. Among all, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a Bangalore based NGO in India works towards countering hunger and illiteracy among children of India. It implements mid-day meal programme to feed the children in Government and Government-aided schools.

The Foundation started the school lunch programme in June 2000 by feeding 1500 children in 5 schools of Bangalore. This humble beginning has today scaled up to an organization that provides food for children in India across 9 states in 19 locations. Currently, the organization feeds 1.3 million children in 9075 Government schools with freshly prepared, nutritious meals every day. There are many children for whom the lunch provided by the Foundation is the only complete meal for the day.

These meals also act as a powerful incentive for parents to send and keep their children in school.  10 centralized kitchens of the organization are ISO 22000:2005 certified with the capacity of producing up to 1,50,000 meals a day.

With the vision of “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger”, the Foundation is evidently moving forward; thereby serving the billionth meal in August 2012. This milestone achievement acts a great source of motivation for the Foundation to reach out to the mission of feeding 5 million children by 2020.

Apart from providing food for children in Government and Government-aided schools, it also serves the society with its other feeding and social initiatives.

Other Feeding Initiatives 

1. Feeding expecting and lactating mothers
2. Feeding the children in special schools
3. Subsidized lunch for the economically backward
4. Feeding runaway children
5. Feeding senior citizens
6. Feeding the homeless
7. Disaster Relief

Other Social Initiatives

1. After-class Tuitions
2. Life Skills Programme
3. Scholarship Programmes
4. Community Health Camps

Through the feeding initiatives, the organization is attempting to benefit more and more children along with other needy section of the society. The social initiatives help children in getting an overall personality development. Through the community health check-up camps, the nutritional and developmental milestones can be monitored. The organization works with the belief that education and nutritious food for children can bring about a sustainable change in the long run.

This change will in turn break the cycle of hunger and illiteracy. With this view, it is in constantly trying to reach out to more locations, to cover more schools, and also to increase the efficiency of the existing kitchens, so that more children can be fed. To achieve this, new technological innovations are witnessed and many pilot projects are run in the kitchens on a regular basis.

Join hands with The Akshaya Patra Foundation to feed the children of India who are also the future of the nation. Your support will not only provide food and help them continue schooling. This in turn will provide the children with nutritious meal and education; and also nourish his or her budding mind.

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Akshaya Patra Feed Children in Jaipur through Mid Day Meal Scheme

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Salman is seated on a woven cloth mat along with his 30 other classmates, the four-year-old eagerly waits for his teacher’s approval to begin the lunch.

It’s only when all the children have washed their hands and are seated comfortably, the teacher gives her approval to begin the prayer thanking almighty for the goodness of the day.

This prayer for Salman means more, it means he can have his tasty hot dal with rotis. He gobbles up the roti and asks for his second in a few minutes and then his third.

Nazia Tazeem, who is the school in-charge at the Rehmani Model Senior Secondary School, run in a mosque at the heart of the Jaipur city, says,”It is only from the last three years that our children are receiving the mid-day meal. Most of the parents are artisans, shoe makers and daily wage labourers, hence the health of the children was a major concern.

Today the mid day meal in the school has a positive impact on the children’s health and has also brought about the much required change.”  She later explains that most parents send children to the school primarily because they know that their children will get at least one nutritious meal enough to keep their hunger away till dinner time. The children studying the secondary school help their parents in their respective vocations after they head back from the school, and the mid-day meal plays all the more important roles in their lives.

The mid-day meal has been able to encourage parents to send even their girls children to school. The report cards and the school report show that mostly girls are among the toppers in their class.  The mid-day meal has helped the school in increasing attendance and enrollment among girls.

The Director says,”The mid-day meal has brought about a tremendous change in the drop out rate – it is less than 1%. In the primary school the increase in attendance is nearly as high as 70%-80%.” The numerous awards that now decorate the school office are a testimony to the children’s growth.

The school which started with just 50 students has now scaled up to 1500 students.  Good attendance is a boost to school which has made it also better in the quality of education that is now delivered - Montessori education for the pre-school and computer education for the primary and secondary school… shares the director.

The significance of nutritious meal highlighted by The Akshaya Patra Foundation has translated into the school authorities educating the parents on nutrition. But because they do not have the required financial resources, it’s seldom that they can meet the demands. It’s that time they truly are thankful for the mid-day meal that the children get in school that the Akshaya Patra feeds over 6,000 children in 30 madrassas in the city.

Akshaya Patra Mid Day Meal Program in the Mining District Bellary

Ramesh and Anjali have been studying using a mobile torch. They have just two zero voltage bulbs in the house, but that too is rendered useless because of the frequent power cuts.

Ramesh is studying in grade 10 and Anjali is studying in grade 8. They both are toppers in their school; what makes their achievement laudable is the fact that they are financially disadvantaged.

The fifteen year old works as a cleaner during the holidays so that he can fund the stationary and other expenses that is incurred at the school.

The seven-member family which includes Ramesh, Anjali and their three younger siblings live in a small shed-like structure. A few years ago Ramesh’s father worked in the nearby mines and the housing facility was provided by the mining giant. But now, with the mines being closed, the family has been told to evacuate. Since they have no where to go, they continue to live in a shed like structure.  The children explain that they have to walk a few kilometers to be able to even get access to drinking water.  The family stays along with 30 other families in the area. With hardly any amenities or infrastructure all the families have the same tell-tales to present.

The Bellary district is a mining hub in the state of Karnataka. The major occupation of the district was agriculture till a decade ago. The mining industry boom saw many people abandoning agriculture and seeking employment in the mines. However, in 2011 the Supreme Court of India ordered a ban on mining in Bellary due to allegations of rampant corruption and illegal mining. This affected thousands of families whose livelihood depended on the mining industry.  Ramesh and Anjali’s father who worked in the mines had to look out for other means of livelihood.

Today the children’s father is a quarry worker. He is the only earning member in the family and his earnings vary from Rs 30 to Rs 200 per day. His father leaves home at 5:00 AM since the quarry is about 17 kms away from their house.  Ramesh shares, “The months which see good rainfall is tough for the family. Though it benefits the region, it proves fatal for those of us whose livelihood depends on the quarry. The rocks refuse to crack in those months and hence we have very limited earnings.” It is in this context that the mid day meal programme has proved to be a blessing for the family.

The teachers at the Rural High School P K Halli, say, “Though most of the children come from low economic groups, it has proved extremely beneficial for children like Ramesh and Anjali. It is during the growing years that children need good nutrition. If the children are hungry, how can they concentrate on the studies?”

The siblings love the mid day meal. In unison they say, “We are able to concentrate better after we have the Akshaya Patra lunch.” Ramesh is not only the school pupil leader but also is the captain of the Kabbadi team.  Ramesh recently led the school Kabbadi team reach the finals of the taluk-level sports meet. Ramesh wants to become a police officer and Anjali wants to become an engineer. The teachers are confident that they will achieve their dreams. The teachers are hopeful that Ramesh will top the school in the 10th grade public examination this academic year.

Every afternoon as Ramesh and Anjali enjoy the mid day meal along with their friends, a commitment for a brighter tomorrow is getting stronger, a dream for a better future is slowly turning into reality!!

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Mid day Meal Incentive at Bengre Kasba School increase Attendance Ratio

The story of significance of mid day meals in a school in the coastal region of Southern Indian Peninsula

In the coastal region of Karnataka, the months of June, July and August which mark the monsoons are tough for hundreds of families whose livelihood depends on deep sea fishing.  At the Government Higher Primary School in Bengre Kasba located in the city of Mangalore, the children are eager to come to school in spite of the heavy downpour. The Principal of the school, Juliet Pinto, says, “The attendance ratio is very good at the school. Though the district is known for a good literacy rate and the city is a well known educational hub, the children come to our school because the mid day meal is a lucrative incentive for them.”

The principal explains that the school is situated very close to the port which is locally known as “Bander”. Children come from households where at least one member of the family is associated with fishing and its subsidiary industries.  The monsoon months are hard on these families because of the ban on fishing. It is banned for two reasons: It’s the fish breeding season and also because the sea currents pose a threat to the lives of fishermen who go fishing. Hence the people from these communities survive of meager savings.

Tazeeb Anisha, a grade 6 student in the school says, “I like the food that is served in the school.” Her father sharpens knives for a living. He supplements the family income by taking up small errands at the port to support his eight member family.  There are many like Anisha who depend on the mid day meal for a nutritious and tasty meal.  The 20-odd classrooms echo in unison -“payasa”, when asked about the favourite part of the mid day menu. Payasa is a sweet prepared out of whole wheat, jaggery and grated coconut. The dish is rich in iron and proteins.

The principal of the school reiterates that the mid day meal is beneficial for the children. She explains that it was only in 2010, that Akshaya Patra began feeding the school. Earlier to this the food used to be cooked in the school premises. She says, “We used to face a lot of problems. There were labour issues. There have been times when the cooks wouldn’t report to work and we had to ask few women who live close by to cook. Additionally since we didn’t have proper storage facility, vegetables would rot easily.”

The school is situated about 15 kms away from the city and the most affordable mode of transportation to the school is the ferry. A few years earlier when the food used to be cooked at the school, the vegetables and other raw materials were transported from the port through these ferries. If the ferry was late, the food would be cooked late and hence the children would go hungry for a few hours. The teachers says, “Now with The Akshaya Patra Foundation providing mid day meals, we have no worries. All the children enjoy the food. As teachers, we can now focus on their education.”

Akshaya Patra mid day school meal mangalore beneficiariesHealth camps are conducted thrice a year, one of which is conducted by a government clinic which is situated close to the school. Incidentally the clinic was set up at the same time when Akshaya Patra began feeding the school. The health supervisor says, “Except for cases of general flu and common cold which is prevalent in the rainy season, the children have been found to be healthy.”

A trophy placed on the principal’s table tells a story of pride. The girls’ football team won an inter-school football match a few months ago. This perhaps reinstates the importance of nutrition and its impact – a goal hit right!

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Akshaya Patra serving the Billionth Meal to School Children

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a Non-Governmental Organization that provides mid-day meal to Government school and Government aided schools across 9 states in India. It operates in 19 locations and reaches out to 1.3 million children everyday. With the vision of “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger”, the Foundation aims to reach 5 million by 2020. Recently, Akshaya Patra
celebrated the success of serving the billionth meal in August 2012. But, reaching this milestone was not an easy task. It required enormous effort, dedication, and sincere approach to coordinate, manage and run the entire process of Mid-Day Meal Programme.

At this juncture, we would like to attribute the Foundation’s success to many factors. Among all there were three key factors:

Our crystal clear mission and vision

• Mission: To reach 5 million children by 2020.
• Vision: No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger.

A successful Public-Private Partnership

The Akshaya Patra Foundation employs the Public-Private Partnership approach to run its operational activities. The Foundation runs its mid-day meal programme in partnership with the Central and various State Governments. These Government bodies support us by providing grain and cash subsidies to successfully run the mid-day meal scheme. Apart from the Government aid, corporate houses and individual donors also extend their generous support.

Our Operation Model

Our Operation Model has been driven to optimum functioning by a chain of departments coming together in a coordinated manner. No department in Akshaya Patra functions in a standalone manner. The profile of each department is structured in a way that it gets complete only when it is interlinked with other departments. This structural set-up of the Foundation, in turn has resulted in “Excellence in Operations”. The various departments involved in the success of the organization are:  

Akshaya Patra Mid Day Meal Program Nourishes Children Grow Stronger

 

 “Pulao, Rice - sambar, curd rice, sweet pongal, bisibele bath, tomato rice…,” a bunch of children join six-year old Dimple as repeats the Akshaya Patra menu when asked what she eats for lunch at the school. They answer while she tries to stitch a button- an exercise given by her teacher to improve her hand-eye coordination.

In the same classroom, Bhavya is teaching her classmates to dance. With the help of gestures she ensures that they understand her instructions. Her auditory impairment seems to disappear to oblivion as she successfully puts up the two-minute dance sequence.

Akshaya Patra mid day meal programme special childrenHer classmates are as differently-abled as her. Many of the children are diagnosed with cerebral palsy, hearing impairment, behaviour disorders and autism. There are 180 students like Bhavya and Dimple at Aruna Chetana – a school for the differently-abled in Bangalore.

The children are given various training and therapies based on their needs, their abilities and interests. This includes sessions on sensory stimulation, auditory therapies, physiotherapy, behaviour management, etc. At 1:00 PM the children assemble to have their mid-day meal which is provided by The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Gayathri Panju, the principal of the school says, “For the last 10 years, Akshaya Patra has been helping us by providing nutritious mid-day meal. Children love the Rice - sambar. Many of the parents say that the children prefer the sambar given by the Foundation than what is cooked at home.”

Most children at the school come from lower socio-economic families. Gayathri says, “Ten years ago, we didn’t have any support system like Akshaya Patra to provide mid-day meals, so most children would just get plain-yellow-coloured rice sans vegetables. Today the food we get from Akshaya Patra is fresh and nutritious, and this has resulted in improvement in children’s health.” She explains that just like in the regular day schools, the mid-day meal programme has been the key reason for increase in attendance by about 40% in the school.

Many children at Aruna Chetana have participated in international sports meet for the differently-abled and have brought laurels. The trophies and medals in the principal’s room are a testimony to this success. A gold plated frame with a letter of appreciation from the Karnataka state government acknowledges Aruna Chetana as the oldest school in the state for the differently-abled.

Aruna Chetana believes that every child has the fundamental right of access to education. Hence few of the children who are trained are also integrated into regular schooling after grade 5. Many of them today have completed their schooling, few are even employed.

While Akshaya Patra’s mid-day meal nourishes these children to grow stronger, Aruna Chetana’s commitment helps them to harbour a very special dream.

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Nationwide Launch of IEC Campaign to Combat Malnutrition

President Pranab Mukherjee on 19 November 2012 launched a nationwide Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign against malnutrition in India- an initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. 

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Mukherjee addressed the malnutrition figures as a wake-up call that needs to be resolved in an intensive manner so as to ensure good nutrition and health for children and their mothers. 

He went on to say, "This is disturbing.... These figures are a wakeup call for all of us and underline the need for concerted drive against malnutrition, and until we ensure good nutrition and health for our children and their mothers we cannot achieve our targets of sustained and inclusive growth."
The campaign will be rolled out in four stages:

• Stage 1- Create awareness on symptoms of malnutrition for a period of eight weeks;
• Stage 2- Give a clarion call or public request, spread over six weeks.
• Stage 3- Key messages on basic critical practices for maternal and childcare to prevent from malnutrition.
• Stage 4- Inform the public about acquiring services and Mother Child Protection card.

In order to create maximum awareness, the campaign will be launched in 18 languages and will be advertised through all communication mediums- TV, radio and print. Actor Aamir Khan and lyricist Prasoon Joshi has been roped in by the Ministry to steer the awareness campaign. This campaign has been designed with technical support of UNICEF.

With the intention of achieving a hunger free and educated society, Akshaya Patra too is working for a similar cause by providing mid-day meal to children of Government school and Government aided schools in 19 locations across 9 states. This mid-day meal programme of Akshaya Patra proved to be a real blessing for the children and an incentive for many parents. Many parents started sending their children to school, with the surety that the children will at least get one full meal for the day. This simultaneously was enabling the children to get educated too. So, the mid-day meal in reality was countering two critical issues – hunger and education.

The mid-day meal programme of Akshaya Patra is the world’s largest NGO run school lunch programme. The Foundation serves freshly prepared, nutritious meals to 1.3 million children of over 9000 schools on all school working days. This has benefitted the children as there were visible improvements in their health. Below are a few instances of the impact Akshaya Patra’s mid-day meal programme had on the children: 

• Juliet Pinto, Principal- Government Higher Primary School Mangalore, states that “health camps are conducted thrice a year, one of which is conducted by a government clinic which is situated close to the school. Incidentally, the clinic was set up at the same time when Akshaya Patra began feeding the school. The health supervisor found all the children to be healthy except general flu and common cold.”

• Lingaraj Bevour is a teacher in a small village school of Bukkasagara, about 50 kilometers away from the city of Bellary. The students of his school mainly hail from families of quarry workers. As both the parents need to work for supporting the family and leave early in the morning, the mid-day meal becomes the first, and many times the only full meal of many students. Despite the hardships, the noticeable aspect was the health improvement among children after the introduction of Mid-Day Meal Scheme by Akshaya Patra. Lingaraj Bevour says, “The health of the children in my school improved tremendously after regular food was provided by Akshaya Patra under the mid-day meal programme.”

• Assistant Head Mistress of Government Higher Primary School- Ashokapuram, Mysore, Geetha Lobo says, “The strength of the school has improved since food started being served here. Prior to Akshaya Patra’s intervention through the mid-day meal programme, some children used to faint from hunger during assembly, but that’s no longer the case. Now, they attend classes regularly and they concentrate better during lessons”.

• Nazia Tazeem, is the school in-charge at the Rehmani Model Senior Secondary School, Jaipur. She says, “It is only from the last three years that our children are receiving the mid-day meal. The health of the children was a major concern. Today the mid-day meal in the school provided by Akshaya Patra has a positive impact on the children’s health and has also brought about the much required change. The mid-day meal has helped the school in increasing attendance and enrolment among girls and reducing drop-out rate.” The numerous awards that now decorate the school office are a testimony to the children’s growth story. The significance of nutritious meal highlighted by The Akshaya Patra Foundation has translated into the school authorities educating the parents on nutrition too.

• Madhusudhan Mahapatra oversees Akshaya Patra’s decentralized kitchens in Nayagarh district of Odisha. The mid-day meal program goes beyond filling a hungry stomach, says Mahapatra. He cites of witnessing improved rates of enrolment and attendance in the years since Akshaya Patra began implementing the scheme in many of the village schools of Nayagarh district. He says, “In a state where nearly 46.8% of the population lives below the poverty line (Orissa has one of the highest figures for child mortality in the country)*, with high rates of child malnutrition, the fact that their children will get good food proves to be a strong catalyst for parents to send them to school.”

• *Food Security Atlas of Rural Orissa, 2008, a report by the UN World Food Program and the Institute for Human Development, New Delhi

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Hans Foundation supports Akshaya Patra Foundation

In a notable manner, Hans Foundation has entered into a strategic partnership with the Akshaya Patra Foundation to build 2 kitchens; one each at Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and Haridwar (Uttarakhand). Each of these kitchens will have a cooking capacity for 1 lakh children. 

These kitchens will be based on latest technology and will positively impact the lives of children. The construction work is currently on at both locations and we will have the kitchens operational by mid next year.

Hans Foundation supports Akshaya Patra. Hans Foundation is supporting around 1000 differently-abled children in 9 special schools at Bangalore and Bellary, with freshly cooked, hot nutritious meals. Hans Foundation has also donated a meal distribution vehicle to The Akshaya Patra Foundation. The custom-designed vehicle donated will be used to distribute mid-day meals to children in schools across Bellary.

Akshaya Patra sincerely acknowledges and is grateful for the valuable support by Hans Foundation.

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Akshaya Patra Announces Distribution of Steel Plates for Govt. School Children

With the vision of “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger”, Akshaya Patra set foot towards implementation of the mid day meal programme in June 2000. As an initial step the Foundation fed 1500 children in 5 schools of Bangalore. 

It slowly started branching out to other parts of Karnataka and then to other states. Currently, it is operating in 19 locations across 9 states with 18 centralized kitchens, and 2 de-centralized kitchens. It caters to 9075 schools reaching out to 1.3 million children everyday on school working days for the entire day.

In 2009, Akshaya Patra was invited by the State Government of Assam to start its work in Guwahati. With the support of the Government the Foundation immediately began its work to set up a kitchen. Despite many challenges like inadequate water supply, partial drainage facility and irregular electricity supply, Akshaya Patra constructed a fully functioning centralized kitchen with all amenities, in keeping with its hygiene standards of cooking and other kitchen operations. The Guwahati kitchen of Akshaya Patra was inaugurated in February 2010. This is the largest kitchen of its kind in North East India. 

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, Guwahati, is currently providing mid-day meals to 512 Government schools in the region. In an effort to further the implementation of mid-day meal programme, the Foundation will be distributing steel plates to about 47000 government school children in the region.

The distribution programme will take place on a phase by phase schedule. To mark a symbolic inauguration of the distribution programme, Shri Janardhana Dasa, Unit president, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, Guwahati; in the presence of eminent personalities like Mr. S.K Roy, District Collector; Shri Jayanta Bhagawati, well-known film personality; Mousumi Saharia, famous Assamese singer, distributed steel plates to 100 school children, on the occasion of Children’s Day.

This free-plate distribution programme will also help to address the challenge related to reduced impact of the mid-day meal programme due to less availability of basic infrastructure like clean plates, water and sanitation.  

This gesture of Akshaya Patra on Children’s Day, not only instilled the sense of equality among all children but also brought loads of precious little smiles.

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Akshaya Patra Mid Day Meal Program Supports Right to Education

The nation has seen many fold developments in both public and private sector undertakings. Yet, there is lot to achieve when it comes to 100% literacy rate. Recent surveys report of having approximately 8.1 million out-of-school children.

This is a challenging figure but it is not impossible to achieve it with proper channelizing. In this context, the Right to Education comes as a support. The Right to Education is a significant International Act. It is a Fundamental Right that entitles an individual to compulsory education between the age group of 6 to 14 years. It also indicates that if required appropriate and necessary steps should be taken to make this education available to all children primarily in this age group.

Akshaya Patra beneficiary mid day school meal. This Act was passed in India as Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act in the year 2009. It was a historic moment as the passing of this Act guaranteed every child in India, the right to elementary education. In recent past, the educational sector in India has seen many significant developments, but the task of complete implementation of RTE is yet to be achieved.

There are many reasons for millions of children to be to of school during their formative years. To mention the most prominent ones are, inaccessibility, poverty, hunger, gender and social inequality. To tackle these crisis many organization across all sectors including Non-Governmental Organizations have pulled up their socks. Among them The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one that is working towards its vision of “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger”.

Taking the first step in June 2000, Akshaya Patra started the mid-day meal programme in Bangalore by feeding 1500 children in 5 schools. Today, it is the world’s largest NGO run mid-day meal programme, serving freshly cooked, healthy and nutritious meals to 1.3 million school children on all school working days. Currently operating in 20 locations across 9 states of India, it aims at feeding 5 million children by 2020. August 2012 saw the celebration of serving the billionth meal, a commendable and noteworthy achievement of Akshaya Patra in the stride towards achieving its vision and mission.

Akshaya Patra is in a constant thrive to reach out to more and more schools, so that many more children can be benefited by the mid-day meal programme. It implements quality controls and is continuously working towards innovating their technology and processes to make nutritious, hygienic and delicious food on an ever-expanding scale. We are aware that the more food we make, the more dreams we can feed. In many instances, the mid-day meal programme works as a powerful incentive too, for parents to send and keep their children in school.

This in turn enables the children to receive formal education for the entire academic year and beyond. Apart from improved nutritional status of students, the mid-day meal acts as a strong reason for them to continue schooling, thereby resulting in decreased rate of school drop-out, increased enrollment and attendance in schools, and better attention span impacting positively to academic progress of the children.

Thus, it is evident that the mid-day meal programme works doubly in countering the issues of hunger and illiteracy. Akshaya Patra applauds all such programmes and efforts that act as a support to the thorough implementation of Right to Education.

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Rug Supplier Surya Raises $29K for Akshaya Patra Mid Day Meals Program

Akshaya Patra is the world’s largest NGO-run mid day meal program. The Foundation serves over 1.3 million underprivileged children with freshly prepared, nutritious meals every day. There are many children for whom the lunch provided by Akshaya Patra is the only complete meal for the day. These meals also act as a powerful incentive for parents to send and keep their children in school.

Surya- a home accessory solutions brand got involved with the noble mission of Akshaya Patra earlier in 2012. They donated $250,000 to help provide thousands of children with healthy meals for an entire year.  In a recent event, Surya’s President, Satya Tiwari decided to use an upcoming local race- the Atlanta AllState Half-Marathon to promote the cause.

He along with his team of Surya employees ran in the marathon and obtained the help of family, friends, customers and the local community in raising donations for the program they named it as “Miles for Meals”. This program enabled to raise over $29,000. Akshaya Patra will be able to feed 1,941 children in the coming year, with the valuable contribution Surya made to the Foundation.

Akshaya Patra is thankful to the entire team of Surya for creating awareness and raising fund for Akshaya Patra. The Foundation is grateful too, to all the valuable donors for their sensitiveness towards the cause of Akshaya Patra.

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Akshaya Patra - Working Towards a Hunger Free and Educated Future

Since its inception in 2000, The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been rigorously working towards making India a hunger free nation. The vision of the Foundation is “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger” with the mission of feeding 5 million children by 2020.

Akshaya Patra beneficiary mid day meal schemeTo achieve the stated motto, Akshaya Patra started a Mid-Day Meal programme in Bangalore by feeding 1500 children in 5 schools. Today it serves mid-day meals to Government and Government aided schools in 9 states, 20 locations and more than 9000 schools.

It is the world’s largest NGO run mid day meal programme; feeding over 1.3 million school children on all school working days. These children come from poor economic background, and for them this mid-day meal could be the only complete meal for the entire day. This meal becomes a strong convincing point for the parents to send their children to school. This in a way is also addressing the issue of illiteracy.

Through providing freshly cooked, nutritious food to these children, and bringing them back to school day after day; Akshaya Patra is working doubly towards achieving two major Millennium Development Goals- elimination of child hunger and illiteracy. Both governmental and non-governmental organizations have pulled up their socks to support such causes that have the ability to influence the future of a society and nation in specific, and the world in general.

In a move to eliminate child hunger and malnutrition, World Bank too, has extended its complete support to various organizations. In a recent blog, it has specially addressed the skewed statistics that reveal- of the total number of hungry children in the world, almost half resides in South Asia. It has also raised many questions like, “Why has the growth remedy – rising incomes correlating with improved nutrition indicators – not worked in South Asia, in contrast to other regions of the world?” The article also mentioned that World Bank would be happy to support challenges like combating child hunger, malnutrition and poverty; and a dream of no more hungry children.

Join the league of helping hands that are in constant thrive to eliminate hunger and illiteracy, by associating with Akshaya Patra. Contribute Rs. 675. Your contribution will feed a child with wholesome meal for an entire year and allow him to get educated in the process.

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Akshaya Patra - NGO in India Celebrates Children’s Day 2012

A day to celebrate children, the childhood, and the innocence;                                                                    

An occasion to rejoice the million smiles and laughter, and                                                                            

A time to cheer the billion dreams and aspirations…

Ask anyone and they will say, ‘the future of the world lies in the hands of children’. Children are the assets of every nation. Prosperity and hope of any society or nation is directly related to the upbringing of its children. If we provide the children of today with wholesome food, education, and health, then we are in to reap a prosperous and bright future.

On the contrary, if children are malnourished and illiterate, the future too will have the same or may be worse, in store for us. When children are young, appreciate their innocence; when they are teenagers, channelize their energy; when they become young adults, help them optimize their goals.  This has the potential to result in a future of responsible, sensitive and conscious adults.

At Akshaya Patra, we are in a constant thrive to create many happy tomorrows, so that Children’s Day celebration is not just restricted to one day; rather it becomes the substance of every day. We want to make the celebration something more than just balloons and sweets. We want to gift them a happy and prosperous future. We want to help them have a life full of happiness. We want to help them in realizing their dreams and aspirations. We want to gift the children, the goodness of food thereby enabling them to get educated.

Having received the credit of world’s largest NGO run mid day meal programme, Akshaya Patra is currently feeding 1.3 million children everyday and aims to feed 5 million children by 2020. This Children’s Day we take the opportunity to reiterate, and to reaffirm our vision of “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger”, in a more profound manner. Join us to offer ‘unlimited food for education’.  Your contribution of Rs. 675 can feed one child for an entire year. Be a part of The Akshaya Patra Foundation and become instrumental in creating a hunger free, educated and blissful tomorrow.

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Feed The Hunger @ Feedthehunger.in

Hunger makes dreams thinner. India has close to 13.5 million children who forgo an education to earn their daily meal.

Akshaya Patra is an NGO that provides mid-day meals to 1.3 million students across nine Indian states, every single day. And when we feed a child that one wholesome meal, we’re not just quieting her hungry stomach.

We’re satiating a far bigger hunger - the inquisitive mind of the child, who wants to learn and achieve something in life. Feed the Hunger is our effort and plea to give children a chance to nourish their dreams.

 That’s why, this Children's Day, we asked the 1.3 million children served by our programme to contour and colour their hopes. The result, are vibrant, original and delightful artworks that chronicle their ambitions. You can order these artworks here for a mere Rs. 675 per card. This amount will put food on their plates for an entire year. But will also, put possibilities in their minds.

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Akshaya Patra Inspiring Students Across Borders

A group of 21 MBA students from Mandalay University were on a business study tour to Bangalore with the aim to learn and take back with them some new ideas on doing business. This tour was a part of their 12 day training programme in India that was initiated by the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore and the Myanmar government. 

Their visit to Bangalore was packed with lectures by professors of IIM on varied topics including management. Field tours were organized to visit prominent Bangalore based corporate campuses like Infosys, Biocon, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Himalaya Pharmaceuticals, 3M and Akshaya Patra Foundation.

The visits to the campuses of these organizations instilled lot of inspiration among the student group.  An MBA student, Phyo Myintzu said, “I want to introduce information and communication technology in the retail sector of my company",

Win Aung, was highly inspired by the work of The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Currently a member of the German-Myanmar Friendship Foundation, an NGO that works on education and community development, Win Aung certainly would have experienced a common cord between both the organizations. Win Aung said, "I am really inspired by the whole idea of providing free food to 1.3 million poor children. I want to launch a similar initiative back home".

Akshaya Patra receives Win Aung’s statement as recognition for their decade long efforts of feeding and educating the future of India. The Foundation is happy that it is able to inspire and motivate students across the borders. This incident reinstated further the vision of the Foundation, “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger”; and the mission of reaching out to 5 million children by 2020.

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Working towards achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

The main focus of Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) is to provide nutritious and balanced diet to underprivileged children. ICDS had conducted ‘Nutrition Week Celebration’ and ‘Iodine Awareness Programme’ at Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, which was inaugurated by District Collector- D. Jagannathan.

Collector D. Jagannathan began his speech by stating- “It is the duty of mothers to feed their babies with nutritious diet for the babies to lead a hale and healthy life,” He went on to add- “Every one should know that nurturing a child in a healthy manner is not an easy task, but it is necessary to make children not only good students but also healthy children, for which they need a nutritious and balanced diet”.

Interestingly, The Akshaya Patra Foundation shares similar sentiment, and is actively working towards achieving Millennium Development Goals. With the vision of “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger”, Akshaya Patra is working towards eliminating child hunger and increasing literacy quotient among the children of the underprivileged section. Set foot in June 2000, by feeding 1500 children in 5 schools of Bangalore, as a part of the mid-day meal program; today it has reached a commendable 1.3 million children across India. Currently, Akshaya Patra operates in 19 locations, across 9 states of India, and covers 9,075 schools to provide freshly cooked meal to the children on all school days. It was a milestone achievement for Akshaya Patra, as the Foundation served its billionth meal in August 2012. It aims to reach out to 5 million children by 2020.

Speaking on the occasion of celebrating the billionth meal, the founding member of Akshaya Patra, Mohan Das Pai maintained that “this organization is the only one of its kind that does not want to exist in future because it envisions a future that does not require it.” This not only inspired the audience but also reinstated the mission in a more profound manner.

Come forward and join hands with The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Be the reason for a hunger free and educated tomorrow.

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Going beyond the Mid Day Meal Programme

The Akshaya Patra Foundation did start off with the focus in providing mid-day meal (MDM), but notably it has spread its wings beyond it. Akshaya Patra has contributed in developing infrastructure, creating awareness on nutrition, hygiene, cleanliness, environment protection, and critical social issue of female foeticide. The Foundation also takes responsibility in offering Life Skill programmes and after school tutorials to the children.

Noteworthy Achievements of The Akshaya Patra Foundation are: 

• Akshaya Patra in association with the Infinity Townships Pvt. Ltd. has provided new borewells and toilets to 15 schools in Guwahati.
• In a joint initiative by Akshaya Patra and Edu media, a student rally was held in Jaipur to create awareness on the need for protecting the environment and in spreading the message that female foeticide is a heinous crime.  
• With the support of Dell Foundation, Akshaya Patra launched its “Akshaya Life Skills” programme in schools, as an initiative to provide all round development of the child. This is in accordance with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Life Skill directive of imparting Life Skills to children.
• Akshaya Patra also conducts timely survey on the mid-day meal. This is done to check the scope of overall improvement in the quality, quantity, and menu.  
• The Akshaya Patra Foundation also enables schools and local groups to be self-sufficient and self-reliant. An example of the same is the 15 acre kitchen garden in Jaipur, that’s gearing up for its second harvest. 
• Akshaya Patra’s effort in providing nutritious, hygienic, and clean food received a mention by AIESEC Team from Manipal University. This team was conducting a workshop in and around Mangalore city with the objective of educating the children and school staff on hygiene, cleanliness and nutrition.

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Akshaya Patra Kitchens Making a Move Forward - New inclusions are Added

Having received the credit of being the World’s largest mid-day meal programme, Akshaya Patra has always been in the look-out to better its kitchen infrastructure. In tune with this motive, it has seen many improvements and introductions to optimize operational and economic efficiency. Akshaya Patra kitchens are witnessing newer technological uplifts; thereby maximizing its potential by many folds.

In an effort to realize their future goals, Akshaya Patra has already started conducting pilot runs of various initiatives like eco-friendly methods of cooking, vehicle tracking system, vegetable cutting and chapati making machine, IVRS and Route Simulation methods. These introductions have significantly sped up the cooking process, keeping intact the quality and hygiene of the cooked food. It has also helped in better tracking of the delivery fleet ensuring timely service on all locations. Apart from advancements in process and service, there have been significant improvement in the taste and recipes too.

The Akshaya Patra kitchen has seen upgrading in the following areas:

• 10 of Akshaya Patra kitchens have successfully passed the ISO recertification audit by conforming to the standard requirements of ISO 22000-2005.
• Akshaya Patra has started implementing a vehicle tracking system by installing GPS devices in 72 vehicles as a test run. The initial report suggests effective management of the fleet.
• In order to optimize time and output, Akshaya Patra kitchen has adopted Six Sigma methodology, and has witnessed 40% reduction in cooking time in its pilot study.
• A new vegetable cutting machine has been tailored in HK Hill kitchen, Bangalore, to save on time and retain freshness of cut vegetables.
• A modified version of Chapati making machine is in the making which will increase the capacity by 50%, with an hourly output of 60,000 chapatis.
• As an initiative to give its recipes a natural colour blend, Akshaya Patra has recently formulated liquid form of cardamom. This has added a fresh flavour to ‘sweet pongal’- a popular South Indian dessert.
• Increasing its presence, Akshaya Patra has started its centralized kitchen in Nathdwara. This will help feed 75,000 students of Government schools in this location.
• The VK Hill kitchen in Bangalore recently introduced an eco-friendly initiative of smokeless stoves known as Oorja runs on briquettes. This smokeless stove has helped in minimising fuel cost by 50%.
• IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System) and Route-Simulation are two other initiatives employed in Akshaya Patra kitchens to help improve the operations and services.

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