RO Water Plant inaugurated at Akshaya Patra Hyderabad kitchen

Among the latest NGO news at Hyderabad, the contribution of MINT (SPMCIL) as a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative certainly deserves a sincere appreciation. The recent RO Water Plant inaugurated at Akshaya Patra Hyderabad kitchen was donated by MINT (SPMCIL), Hyderabad. This Rs. 16 lakhs worth RO Water Plant has the capacity to purify 6,000 litres of water per hour. The RO Water Plant inaugurated at Akshaya Patra Hyderabad kitchen was graced by the General Manager, MINT; Ramulu, Deputy HR General Manager; Mahi Pal Reddy, MLA Patancheru; and Satya Goura Chandra Dasa, Unit President, Akshaya Patra Telangana along with other dignitaries. 

The NGO news at Hyderabad also proudly states that the purified water from the recently RO Water Plant inaugurated at Akshaya Patra Hyderabad kitchen will be used for preparing mid-day meal for the children.

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Non profit organisation Akshaya Patra feeds hungry children

Akshaya Patra is a non profit organisation that serves the mid day meal programme across India. Started in the year 2000, feeding just 1,500 children across 5 Government schools in Bangalore, today the Foundation feeds over 1.4 million children across 10,770 Government and Government aided schools in 24 locations, and 10 states of India. Through these nutritious meals, children all over the country are improving in terms of their physical and mental health, and turning their lives around. Akshaya Patra works through donation for hungry children from the Government, corporates and interested well-wishers.

This non profit  organisation functions to fulfill its vision that ‘no child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger.' The mid day meal programme is the Foundation's vehicle to make this vision a reality. Currently the organisation has served over 1.76 billion meals and counting. Exceeding its current number of beneficiaries, Akshaya Patra hopes to realise its mission of feeding 5 million children by 2020. The Foundation feeds these children through its specialized kitchens set up across India.

Akshaya Patra cooks the food through its kitchens that are designed in two models – centralised and decentralised. The centralised kitchens are extremely efficient, mechanised units that have the capacity to cook huge amounts of food. Most of the centralised kitchens can cook up to 100,000 meals a day. Because of the machine intensive nature of these kitchens, the food is cooked with high efficiency, hygiene and quality standards.

The decentralised kitchens have been set up in Baran (Rajasthan) and Nayagarh (Odisha) where the poor road connectivity and lack of infrastructure has prevented Akshaya Patra from setting up a mainstream centralised kitchen. These kitchens are run by women from local self-help groups who are trained by Akshaya Patra personnel. Through this, the Foundation ensures that even children in remote parts of the country have access to tasty, healthy food. The programme in these locations is supported through donation for hungry children to the Foundation.

Akshaya Patra as a non profit organisation relies heavily on community involvement to combat classroom hunger in India. In order to provide the mid day meal programme in a sustainable manner to children in India, the Foundation urges corporates and individuals to get involved in providing food for education to these underserved children. Whether it is through volunteering and fundraising activities, corporate social responsibility initiatives, or through regular donations, regular participation is crucial. If you would like to make a donation for hungry children and help change their lives for the better, click here.@ https://www.akshayapatra.org/onlinedonations

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Cookathon for Karnataka- Improving Nutrition in Mid-Day Meals

Cookathon for Karnataka-Improving Nutrition in Mid-Day Meals was a unique initiative spearheaded by Ashoka India, The Akshaya Patra Foundation and Something’s Cooking during early April. It was a cooking competition that encouraged participants to make use of local ingredients in their own creative way to dish out a recipe that will improve the nutrition of the mid-day meal scheme beneficiaries. All the participants were divided to eight regions namely Bellary, Bangalore Urban, Bidar, Chamrajnagar, Coorg, Dakshin Kannada, Hubli and Shimoga. The event was well-received by the group of 36 cooks and experts.  The participants received encouragement and support all the way through the 48 hours from a team of experts comprising of Sunetra Roday, a Nutritionist and retired Principal of Maharashtra State Institute of Hotel Management & Catering; Chef Lars Charas, Programme Manager, Feed the Planet, Netherlands; Chef Manisha Bhasin, ITC Maurya, New Delhi; and Chef Ranajoy Chowdhury, Chef Samuel and Chef Senthil, three professors from the Institute of Hotel Management, Bangalore. 

At the end of 48 hours, the participants of Cookathon for Karnataka-Improving Nutrition in Mid-Day Meals dished out over 60 recipes. All the recipes were assessed by a panel of four judges namely - Vijayalakshmi, Assistant Director, Mid-Day Meal Scheme Karnataka; Madan, Chef Rajesh, MTR Foods; Sunetra Roday, Nutritionist and retired Principal of the Maharashtra State Institute of Hotel Management & Catering; and Chief Operating Officer of Akshaya Patra. Ragi laddoo by organic farmers K. Kallappa and his wife Sumangala from Bellary was adjudged as the best dish of the event. Kallappa said that ragi is a very nutritious ingredient rich in calcium and fibre and jaggery is rich in minerals like iron. With the intention to showcase the much higher nutritional benefits of millets and jaggery as compared to popular rice and sugar they presented their dish of ragi laddoo. Vijayalakshmi, Assistant Director, Mid-Day Meal Scheme Karnataka said that in her more than 32 years of service, she has never witnessed such a collective event like the Cookathon for Karnataka-Improving Nutrition in Mid-Day Meals. she also said that this event being the starting point, it can be replicated at district level where women folk can come forward and share their nutritious recipes. 

To see what are the other dishes that stood the test of judges read Akshaya Patra Blog. The Akshaya Patra Blog will also provide you with more insights about the event.

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Partner with Akshaya Patra this World Hunger Day 2015

As we approach World Hunger Day 2015 we take stock of the hunger problem both across the world and in India too. The past twenty years have shown great developments in tackling the global issue of hunger. With a Global Hunger Index score of 20.6 in 1990, reduced to 12.5 in 2014, addressing hunger has clearly been given priority in the world. However, despite the attention granted to this issue, there are still around 805 million people globally who suffer with chronic hunger and malnourishment even today. It is to bring awareness of this issue, and to invite people around the world to come together with the affected men, women and children to find a sustainable solution to hunger and poverty, that this day was conceptualised.

World Hunger Day is an annual event that has been created by The Hunger Project UK, and is celebrated on 28^th May each year. The theme this year is 'Do something great'. The theme invites people all across the world to get involved in programmes, come up with activities, and get involved in any way they can, and do something great to help reduce hunger and poverty in the world today. The day is a celebration also of the need to work with communities suffering from chronic hunger, and develop a sustainable strategy to help them overcome the problem for good.

India has made great strides in reducing hunger as well. According to a provisional report submitted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and UNICEF, the score of underweight children in India dropped from 43.5 per cent in 2005-06 to 30.7 per cent in 2013-14. This improvement has been brought about by certain highly effective initiatives introduced by the Government of India to help combat hunger and malnutrition in the country. Some of these have been ensuring better agricultural output, diversifying produce, aiding small and marginal farmers and increasing efficiency, cost effectiveness and nutritional value of services like the Integrated Child Development Service, Mid-Day Meal Scheme, and Targeted Public Distribution System.

However despite these measures hunger remains a big problem in India, increased by issues like the wide economic gap between the rich and poor, and huge quantities of food wasted every year. Akshaya Patra through its mid-day meal programme that provides nutritious food from its 24 kitchen units, to over 1.4 million children across 10 states of India has made some progress in reducing the impact of hunger especially among children in India. Join with us this World Hunger Day 2015 to 'Do something great' and end classroom hunger in India! Donate now!

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Partner with Akshaya Patra on World Hunger Day

World Hunger Day is observed to spread awareness about the debilitating effects of hunger across the world. World Hunger Day also provides a platform to welcome participation and support from each nation globally to eradicate hunger and poverty. There has been a 39% drop in Global Hunger Index (GHI) score for developing countries as compared to year 1990. Yet, an approximate of 805 million of the total world population is in the clutches of various hunger adversities. Taking a look at Indian scenario, the classification of hunger situation has changed from ‘alarming’ to ‘serious’ as its GHI score has indicated eight place improvement in 2014 with the ranking of 55th out of 76 countries. The improved ranking is a result of collective initiatives taken by the Government along with Non-Governmental Organisations as its implementing partners. Some of the initiatives are agriculture and farmer oriented schemes to improve productivity, reduce vulnerabilities and also to be cost-effective. Implementation of various food based schemes like Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS), Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) and Targeted Public Distribution System has also contributed to the improvement.

Yet, India has a large population of approximately 243 million adolescents who are aged between 10-19 years that suffer from hunger effects like anaemia, according to a UNICEF study. The access to food cannot be solely related to economic and social inequality because the issue of food wastage is alarmingly high across the nation. In 2014, The Hindu, a newspaper publication reported wastage of 1.94 lakh metric tonnes food grains between 2005 and 2013. Poor storage facilities, improper channelizing of food grains and wastage from households and lavish celebrations are some of the factors leading to food wastage. During such a scenario, food based scheme like the Mid-Day Meal Scheme acts a breather for at least those children who study in Government schools.

The MDMS is being implemented by various NGOs in partnership with the Government. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one such NGO. The Akshaya Patra mid-day meal is benefitting over 1.4 million children across the country. Witnessing the positive effects, the NGO aims at expanding its reach in addition to the already 23 operating locations. Akshaya Patra mid-day meal is a wholesome meal prepared in a hygienic and clean environment which also caters to local palate by keeping intact the nutritional values of the prepared meal.

On this World Hunger Day that will be observed on 28th May, lets together pledge and work towards a zero hunger society. Get Involved will help you choose how you can partner with Akshaya Patra in providing nutritious mid-day meal. Join with us this World Hunger Day 2015 to ‘Do something great’ and end classroom hunger in India! Donate now!

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Akshaya Patra ngo in Jaipur served over 1.7bn meals and counting

Akshaya Patra is an ngo in Jaipur and 23 other locations around India that provides the mid-day meal programme to underserved children. The Foundation which was opened in the year 2000 feeding 1,500 children across 5 schools today feeds over 1.4 million children every day. The mid day meal in Jaipur from this organisation began being served in February 2004, and today feeds 92,763 children across 1,081 Government and Government aided schools in the region.

The organisation was born by the inspiration of Srila Prabhupada, who saw the heartbreaking sight of small children fighting with dogs over scraps of food. He was filled with resolve from this experience that no child in a ten mile radius of his centre should suffer from hunger. It was from this concept that this Foundation was born. The organisation was cenceptualised with the vision that 'no child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger', and is currently working to fulfill its mission of feeding 5 million children by 2020. In the year 2012 the organisation had the honour of serving its billionth meal. So far the organisation has succeeded to the point of having served over 1.7 billion meals and counting.

The ngo in Jaipur operates from a centralised kitchen. The Akshaya Patra centralised kitchens are highly mechanised cooking units that can produce huge amounts of food in a very short amount of time. Nost of these kitchens can cook 100,000 meals in just a few short hours. Fitted with a roti (Indian flatbread) making machine that can cook up to 60,000 rotis in an hour, huge cauldrons that can cook thousands of kilograms of food and other such technologically advanced equipment, these kitchens are the epitome of efficiency, hygiene and quality. Besides serving the mid day meal in Jaipur, the Foundation also has kitchens at Baran, Nathdwara and Jodhpur in Rajasthan.

Like the other Akshaya Patra kitchens the ngo in Jaipur caters to the local palate in the food that it cooks. Some of the delicious served as part of the mid day meal in jaipur include rice, roti, dal, pulao and a range of other vegetable dishes. Showcasing the excellent standards that the Foundation maintains across its kitchens, the Jaipur kitchen is ISO 22000:2005 certified. Besides the Jaipur kitchen, there are 11 other centralised kitchens by the Foundation that have received this certification.

The Foundation dreams of a day when no child will have to give up their education to earn enough money to eat. Help us put an end to classroom hunger by donating here.@ https://www.akshayapatra.org/onlinedonations

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Akshaya Patra news: Food Safety and Quality Lab in Ahmedabad

The inauguration of Food Safety and Quality Lab in Ahmedabad is a testimony that The Akshaya Patra Foundation has always considered hygiene, cleanliness and quality as the most important factors while providing mid-day meal. It has always employed innovative and process optimising methods to provide quality meal to the children of the nation. The latest Akshaya Patra news gives an overview of the recently inaugurated lab. 

The Food Safety and Quality Lab in Ahmedabad is the first food safety and quality lab of Akshaya Patra. The sponsorship of Jamsetji Tata Trust along with the technical assistance received from the Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysuru makes this lab an example of philanthropic involvement towards feeding young citizens of the country. 

The Food Safety and Quality Lab in Ahmedabad is equipped with high precision equipment for detailed evaluation of food right from the stage of procurement to the stage of serving. Akshaya Patra news stated some of the technologies and features of the Food Safety and Quality Lab in Ahmedabad:

• Atago make table top refractometer to analyse total soluble solids, fat purity, adulteration of oil etc. 

• Shimadzu make spectrophotometer to evaluate DNA/protein concentration, absorbance, transmittance and the like

• Imported Duran make glassware to undertake physical and chemical analysis for maximum accuracy

• Precision weighing scales of 0.0001g accuracy to weigh chemicals for microbiological and chemical analysis

• Latest equipment for measuring microbial count by using filtration technique with pre-sterilized membranes of 0.45 microns

• Incorporation of fume hood and exhaust systems to maintain clean and contamination free environment 

• All the test results will be recorded in real time.

The inauguration of the Food Safety and Quality Lab in Ahmedabad saw the presence of Dr. Sanjiv Phalsankar, Programme Director, Tata Trusts; Dr. Alok Srivastava, Senior Principal Scientist, Department of Food safety and Quality Control Lab; Representatives from the Food and Drugs Control Administration, Government of Gujarat; Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation; Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice- Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation and Jaganmohan Krishna Dasa, Unit President, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, Gujarat.

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Akshaya Patra Baran kitchen celebrate its 10 years

The Akshaya Patra Baran kitchen is the NGO’s first decentralised kitchen unit. It was started way back in 2005 after a survey of the district revealed presence of considerably large number of malnourished children. These children also had to forgo education as they belonged to low income nomadic tribal families who were in a constant move from one place to another in search of employment. This critical situation of the district indeed demanded for a provision of nutritious meal for children. 

Looking into the terrain of the region and improper road connectivity it was impossible to construct centralised kitchen unit and that led Akshaya Patra to initiate the decentralised model. Thus, set forth the beginning of Akshaya Patra Baran kitchen. With the support from local Village Head, Akshaya Patra hired and trained women of Self-Help Groups to cook nutritious meals by following standard hygiene and cleanliness practices. This initiative not only benefitted the children of the area but also proved to be beneficial in terms of permanent employment for the women folk. This also relieved them from living a nomadic life. 

The NGO blog reveals that currently there are 215 women employees in the Akshaya Patra Bran kitchen and they provide mid-day meal to 9,855 children of 101 schools in the region. They also support nutritional requirement of 1,695 infants across 48 Anganwadi centres. Read more on Akshaya Patra Baran kitchen in the NGO blog Celebrating 10 Years at the Baran Kitchen!

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Ngo in Hyderabad to feed hungry children

The Akshaya Patra ngo in hyderabad works to feed hungry children in the state of Telangana on every school day. By providing the mid day meal in Hyderabad, the Foundation feeds 54, 849 children across 454 Government and Government aided schools in the region, on every school day. This kitchen has been operational since October 2008. Besides this kitchen the Foundation has kitchen units in 23 other locations reaching out to over 1.4 million children a day.

In order to feed hungry children tasty food that they enjoy, the menu has been modified at this ngo in hyderabad to suit the local palate. Therefore the mid day meal in hyderabad includes dishes like pulao (a rice based dish cooked in a delicious broth), lentils (pulses curry), black chickpea and other tasty vegetables. Access to this nutritious food on every school day has helped transform the lives of many children in the region.

Speaking of the significant impact the programme has had on the children, CH Ramulu, the Head Master of the local Government school says, "Akshaya Patra has done a great service here at our school. For many here, the mid-day meal is an important aspect of their daily lives."

The ngo in hyderabad works out a centralised kitchen to feed hungry children in the state. This centralised kitchen is a highly mechanised unit, which is fitted with the latest cooking equipment that allows for mass production of food in the least amount of time. Because of the highly mechanised nature of cooking there is hardly any human contact with the food. This ensures that the mid day meal in hyderabad is cooked in an extremely hygienic manner, with absolute adherence to excellent quality standards. Once the food is cooked it is loaded into the Foundation's customised meal delivery vehicles to take to the hungry children in school.

Even Sana, a student of the Zilla Parishad High School in Patancheru shares her enthusiasm over the progamme. "I like the Dal (a curry prepared with lentils) served and the Biryani is delicious. I am grateful to Akshaya Patra for providing me with delicious mid-day meals," she says.

Through this programme, Akshaya Patra works help other children like Sana, and fulfill its mission that 'no child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger'. By continuing with its work, Akshaya Patra aims to achieve its mission of feeding 5 million children by 2020. To help the Foundation, donate here. @ https://www.akshayapatra.org/onlinedonations

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NGO in Guwahati feeds over 50,000 children

The Akshaya Patra ngo in Guwahati was opened in February 2010. This mid day meal programme in Assam today feeds 53,649 children across 592 schools in the region. Working out of a highly mechanised centralised kitchen in the region this charity for children aims to one day eliminate classroom hunger in India. The Akshaya Patra centralised kitchens are highly automated enterprises which allow for large scale cooking in a very short amount of time. These kitchens are fitted with the latest in cooking equipment, and allow the staff to produce food in huge quantities, and maintaining rigid standards of quality and hygiene at the same time.

The Akshaya Patra charity for children started out in the year 2000 feeding 1,500 children across 5 schools in Bangalore, Karnataka. Today, besides the mid day meal programme in Assam, the Foundation has a presence in 9 other states of India, feeding over 1.4 million children across 10,770 schools every day. The kitchen of this ngo in Guwahati is also ISO 22000:2005 certified. This means that the kitchen has achieved the required standards of quality and hygiene. The kitchen is equipped with cauldrons to cook rice and dal (lentils). The rice cauldrons have the capacity of about 500 litres, while the dal cauldrons can hold between 1,200 t0 3,000 litres. Being a kitchen in North India, the menu also consists of roti (Indian flatbread). The kitchen is also fitted with a roti making machine that can produce 200,000 rotis from 6,000 kilograms of wheat flour.

Born of the belief that 'No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger' this charity for children has made it its mission to feed 5 million children by 2020. By receiving support from the State and Central Government, corporates and private donors, this ngo in Guwahati is already well on its way to eradicating classroom hunger in the state. The purpose is to provide tasty, nutritious meals through the mid day meal in Assam, and therefore the children are served healthy food like rice, dal (lentils curry), and delicious vegetable dishes. For the Foundation to achieve its dream of providing food for education to the underserved children of India, Akshaya Patra needs the involvement and assistance of every member of society. Interested parties can view their options for getting involved in the programme from the Akshaya Patra website or make a contribution to the programme here.@ https://www.akshayapatra.org/onlinedonations

Donate and provide food for hungry children

The Akshaya Patra Foundation works to provide food for hungry children to combat malnutrition and bring them to school for education. As long as children don't have enough food to eat every day they will never be able to study hard and break their cycle of hunger and poverty. The mid day meal programme aims to bridge this gap between nutrition and illiteracy, by giving parents an incentive to send their children to school for a tasty, healthy meal every day.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation feeds over 1.4 million children like this every day, on contributions made frequently through online charity donations.

Providing food for hungry children is something that Akshaya Patra has been committed to since the year 2000. Today the Foundation provides the mid day meal programme in 24 locations across 10 states of India. From these locations food is transported to 10,770 Government and Government aided schools every day through customised meal delivery vans, affectionately called the Blue Buses. The Foundation can reach out to more underserved children by receiving online charity donations to help in the cause of eliminating classroom hunger in India.

Eleven of Akshaya Patra's kitchens have been ISO 22000:2005 certified while the rest are in the process of certification. The Foundation's kitchens are divided into two formats - centralised and decentralised. Centralised kitchens are highly mechanised and efficient, ensuring the best standards of hygiene and productivity. In the regions of Baran and Nayagarh where infrastructure and road connectivity are minimal, Akshaya Patra runs decentralised kitchens. These kitchens are run by the members of local self-help groups, who have been trained by Akshaya Patra personnel. These members are often cooking for their own children attending school.

By providing food for hungry children Akshaya Patra stays true to its vision that 'no child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger'. The organisation has made huge progress in providing unlimited food for education to underserved children through the mid day meal programme, but there is still further to go. The Foundation is currently working towards fulfilling its mission of feeding 5 million children by 2020. Contributions to this cause through online charity donations and other fund raising activities will go a long way in assisting Akshaya Patra in this goal.

The efforts of every single person are crucial towards combatting hunger and poverty in India. At Akshaya Patra a contribution of just Rs.750 is sufficient to feed one child for an entire year. Besides the joy of contributing towards improving a child's life, donating to Akshaya Patra for an amount above Rs.500 will also give the donor an added advantage of being able to able of tax exempti0n. To make an online contribution to the Foundation and help change a life, click here.@ https://www.akshayapatra.org/onlinedonations

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Asian MAKE- Latest NGO Awards 2015

Among the latest NGO awards 2015, Akshaya Patra became the recipient of Asian MAKE Award. The Asian MAKE (Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise) award was presented at the CII National Knowledge Summit 2015 THAT was held in Bangalore. ‘Digital India’ was the theme of the summit. 

The Asian MAKE award identifies organisations founded and headquartered in Asia which improves stakeholder value by utilising existing or new knowledge to provide better services and products. The winners for the award were adjudged by a panel of intellectuals from Asian-based Fortune Global 500 through a criteria based process of three rounds. Akshaya Patra was the only non-profit organisation to win Asian MAKE Award. Hindustan Unilever Limited, Infosys Limited, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro Limited were some of the other Indian organisations to share space with Akshaya Patra in Asian MAKE Award. 

This latest NGO awards 2015 is like a testimony that Akshaya Patra is creating a platform for knowledge based learning, sharing and functioning thereby enhancing the significance of stakeholders. Click latest NGO awards 2015 to know more about the Asian MAKE Award.

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Akshaya Patra wins Communicator Award

In a recent event, Akshaya Patra received Communicator Award for its Annual Report. The Akshaya Patra Annual Report 2013-14 won the Award of Excellence in the 21st Annual Communicator Award in the category of Print not-for-profit. Akshaya Patra Annual Report also received Distinction Award in the criteria of overall design. The Award of Excellence also came by as NGO latest award for its film ‘The Possibilities’ in the category of Video not-for-profit.

This year the Communicator Award received more than 6,000 entries from across the world. Being one of the most prestigious awards, it’s a platform that honours works of excellence in communications and marketing from across all industry types. Scored on a 100 point scale, where the Excellence Award winners receive a score of 90 or above and the Distinction winners score between 70 to 89 points. The award is adjudged by members of the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts (AIVA), an invite-only group of elite professionals from acclaimed media, communication, creative, advertising and marketing companies. 

It is indeed prestigious for Akshaya Patra to receive Communicator Award. To know more about this NGO latest award click Akshaya Patra Communicator Award.

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Akshaya Patra celebrates International Mother's Day

International Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May each year. On this day, mothers all over the world are recognised for their contributions, cards and gifts are exchanged, and families come together in celebration. At The Akshaya Patra Foundation mothers play a crucial role in the company's ethos. The food cooked in the kitchens and served to the children is prepared with a mother's love for her child. In fact the Foundation has a video called 'A Morsel of Love' which showcases how each day the nutritious food is prepared with the tender care of a mother, and this love is one of the crucial ingredients in this food that the children enjoy so greatly.

The occasion of International Mother's Day also prompts us to look at how else Akshaya Patra provides support to mothers. Women are employed in almost all the kitchens across the country. In the two decentralised kitchens alone, Akshaya Patra employs over 1,400 women, while over 2,200 women are employed across every sector of the organisation in total. This employment provides mothers the opportunity to be financially independent, contribute to their family income and also serves as an example to their children by promoting gender equality. In many cases, the women working at the decentralised kitchens have been employed from local self-help groups. Through their work with the Foundation, they earn money and improve their social standing among their peers. Also the beneficiaries of the programme in this region are often the children of the ladies employed in the decentralised kitchens. Therefore these mothers have the opportunity to cook the tasty, nutritious food for their own children, ensuring that they stay in school.

Akshaya Patra also recognises how crucial it is to care for a mother's health especially during the times of pregnancy and soon after. It is as this time that a mother's body needs access to the vital nutrients it requires to stay healthy for herself, and for her child. To ensure this Akshaya Patra serves nutritious food to nearly 6,000 mothers at close to 300 Anganwadi centres in Jaipur. International Mother's Day is one day to celebrate and honour the mothers in society, but at Akshaya Patra every day is an occasion to nurture and care for these special people. In order to provide more opportunity to mothers all over India, and ease their burdens by providing free, nutritious food to their children, Akshaya Patra needs your support. Make a quick, online contribution to the programme here. @http://www.akshayapatra.org/donate-mothersday

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