Importance of mid-day meal in India

 

The programme - mid-day meal India is one of the potential steps taken by the Government of India to promote education. Realising the potential of the mid-day meal India, the Government also wants more and more participation from NGOs in India. One such NGO in India is The Akshaya Patra Foundation that has taken up this endeavour since 2000.

Feed children through NGO in Vadodara

The Akshaya Patra Foundation began its operation as a NGO in Vadodara in November 2009. With the support of Government and various generous contributors, this NGO in Vadodara feeds 113,593 children in around the city. Every day the centralised kitchen of this NGO delivers mid-day meal to around 616 Government schools to feed the children of Vadodara. Vadodara is Akshaya Patra's second location in Gujarat after Gandhinagar that was inaugurated in June 2007. In total, Akshaya Patra caters to more than four lakhs children in Gujarat thereby covering above 1,600 Government schools.

Mayor visits mid-day meal NGO in Mangalore

The Akshaya Patra kitchen unit was recently visited by the Mayor of Mangalore City Corporation, Mahabala Marla. This centralised Akshaya Patra kitchen provides mid-day meals to more than 19,000 Government school children covering 145 schools. The NGO has been providing mid-day meals in Mangalore since December 2004 and was the fourth unit in Karnataka.

Feed a child by contributing charity to Akshaya Patra

In an environment of many considerations, donations for non-profit organizations is filled with many questions. This is further supported by a recent newspaper release. This report brings to fore that there are over 20 lakh NGOs operating in India. Of the 43,527 NGOs that have the approval for accepting foreign donations, only 22,702 have submitted the mandatory accounts with the Government. This state of affairs certainly clouds the mind of a generous donor with many questions. But there are many NGOs like The Akshaya Patra Foundation that regularly and diligently publishes Annual Report of every financial year and submits its financial statements to the Government thereby doing justice to the Government’s permission to collect overseas donations under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 1976. The Finance Ministry has also encouraged the Foundation to seek donations under Section 35 AC and 80 G of the Income Tax Act which also permits the issuance of 100% Tax Exemption for any donation made above Rs. 500.

Bill Clinton visits The Akshaya Patra Foundation in Jaipur

 

During his recent tour to India, Ex-President of the United States of America visited The Akshaya Patra Foundation in Jaipur. Clinton visited Akshaya Patra’s kitchen that is of centralised model in Jaipur. Clinton was overwhelmed to witness the kitchen process, quantity of food cooked and maintenance of high quality, safety and hygiene standards in implementing the mid-day meal programme. He was awestruck seeing the roti making machine in Akshaya Patra kitchen. In appreciation to the effort of implementing the mid-day meal programme by The Akshaya Patra Foundation he said, “Such huge quantity of food prepared and served in efficient, healthy and sanitary manner is unbelievable.” Clinton also visited the Government School in Sanganer, one of the beneficiary schools of The Akshaya Patra Foundation in Jaipur. The school students presented a cultural programme in honour of him and also interacted with the Former President with much delight. During the school visit he also served food to the children.

You need just Rs. 750 to feed a child for an entire year!

 

Rs. 750 can feed a child for an entire year! The minute we read this, the first thought that surfaces is- is it really possible? The second thought is how is it possible?

Akshaya Patra inaugurates its 23rd Kitchen in Cuttack

In the mission to benefit more and more children, The Akshaya Patra Foundation inaugurated its 23rd kitchen unit in Cuttack, Odisha. With this the count of Akshaya Patra kitchen locations in Odisha moves up to four. Prominent dignitaries - Naveen Patnaik, Honourable Chief Minister of Odisha; General Surat Singh Sandhu - Chairman of The Kusuma Foundation; and Pankaj Vinayak Sharma - Country Leader of The Kusuma Foundation in the ceremony along with The Akshaya Patra Foundation representatives were present at the inaugural ceremony.

Role of an NGO in India

                                   

It is a well-known and globally accepted fact that the role of an NGO is inevitable. Be it a developed nation, developing or under-developed nation, NGO has a vital role to play in the growth and sustenance of every nation. Especially, Indian child NGOs play a very significant role. This is so because the core role of an Indian child NGO revolves around the health, education, and rights of the children especially of the backward section of the society. The Indian child NGOs are seen as a ray of hope in bringing the underprivileged section of the society at par with the privileged section.

Akshaya Patra, NGO in Assam, implementing mid-day meal scheme since 2010

 

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, the operating mid-day meal NGO in Assam first made its eastward expansion in February 2010. Nestled among lush green tea gardens and scenic landscape with varied flora and fauna, Assam is one of the beautiful destinations of the north-east India. Akshaya Patra upon receiving an invitation from the State Government of Assam set up a centralised kitchen in Guwahati and started serving mid-day meal in Assam's Guwahati region from February 2010 onwards. 

Never say never’ attitude of Saraswati- a beneficiary of Akshaya Patra

The mid-day meals programme of The Akshaya Patra Foundation not only provides a plate full of nutritious meal during each school lunch hour but it also feeds the aspirations of growing minds. This one meal brings out the uniqueness of the children and nurture their dreams and aims in life. Each beneficiary of Akshaya Patra has their own individual story to share. These stories are not tales to gain sympathy; rather they are a source of inspiration for everyone across the society. The Akshaya Patra success stories give you an opportunity to know the beneficiaries a little more closely thereby revealing that some of their dreams might coincidentally match yours!

Akshaya Patra serving ‘unlimited food for education

 Unlimited food for education’ is the motto The Akshaya Patra Foundation is working towards each passing day. By implementing the mid-day meal programme this Indian NGO wants to provide fresh and nutritious food for children. In doing so it indeed keeps in mind that along with serving fresh and nutritious food it should also be tasty and serve the local palate so that the child relishes each morsel. Akshaya Patra over the 14 long years of service has well understood the interrelationship between food and education. When as adults we cannot concentrate in our work with an empty stomach then how can we expect to learn and get educated with an empty stomach?

Akshaya Patra's kitchen process in implementing the mid-day meal program

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a non-profit organisation for children implements the mid-day meal program in 10 states of India. With the objective of benefitting children across urban and remote location, this non-profit organisation for children operates two models of kitchen: Centralised Kitchen and Decentralised kitchen. Centralised Kitchens are large and mechanised cooking units in urban and semi-urban locations with the capacity to cook up to 100,000 meals, thereby facilitating large scale feeding. Presently, Akshaya Patra operates 20 Centralised Kitchens across India.

Akshaya Patra Mangalore kitchen upgraded

On a regular basis, Akshaya Patra kitchens keep upgrading the facilities for better operations and improved food safety measures. Recently, the NGO in Mangalore upgraded its kitchen facility with an aim to increase its capacity of feeding more children. This NGO in Mangalore currently provides mid-day meals to children in more than 140 Government schools. With the recent renovation the Mangalore kitchen has improved automation of the production and post-production processes. This has also led to further conformation to national standards pertaining to food safety.

Akshaya Patra implementing mid-day meal scheme in Gujarat

Since June 2007, The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been implementing the mid-day meal scheme in Gujarat. It began by feeding Government school children of Gandhinagar. Gradually realising the need and importance of the programme, it expanded its operation in Vadodara and Surat. As a NGO in Gujarat, Akshaya Patra caters to 400,158 children covering 1,653 Government schools every day. All the three locations operate centralised kitchen format to prepare the mid-day meals. The location-wise reach of Akshaya Patra is: 121,508 children in 666 Gandhinagar schools; 113,593 children across 616 Vadodara schools and 165,057 children across 371 schools in Surat.

Smriti Irani’s visit to NGO in Gujarat

  

The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been implementing the mid-day meal programme since June 2007. As a NGO in Gujarat, Akshaya Patra serves mid-day meal in Gandhinagar, Vadodara and Surat. All the three locations operate centralised kitchen units and cater to more than 4 lakhs children across 1,653 Government schools. In a recent event, Smriti Irani, Human Resource Development Minister, visited one of the beneficiary schools of Akshaya Patra in Gandhinagar. During the visit she interacted with the children of Kudasan Primary School, engaged in their school enrolment process and also distributed uniforms, books with school bags to the beneficiary children. The HRD Minister also emphasised on importance of girl child’s education, women empowerment and their safety.