Akshaya Patra first began providing
the mid day meal programme in Odisha
in June 2006. The ngo in Orissa
opened its centralised kitchen at Puri which today feeds over 55,000 children
across nearly 650 Government schools every day. The Foundation, which runs the
world’s largest school feeding programme, currently feeds over 1.4 million
children across 10,770 Government schools in India every day. The organisation
undertakes this mammoth task through its 24 kitchen units spread out over 10
states in the country. With the vision that ‘No child in India shall be
deprived of education because of hunger’ Akshaya Patra is committed to ending
child hunger in India. The Foundation, being a not-for-profit organisation,
relies on the donations of the Government of India, corporates and well-wishers
to provide this nutritious food to the children. In order to encourage more
contributions the Government of India permits tax benefits of donations to be given. For those who contribute
over Rs.500 they can avail of 100 per cent tax exemption.
The mid day meal programme in Odisha
is also served through the other kitchens at Nayagarh, Rourkela and Cuttack.
Overall this ngo in Orissa provides daily food for over 125,000 children across
1,461 Government schools in the state. Out of the four kitchens in the state,
three follow the centralised kitchen format while Nayagarh follows the
decentralised kitchen format. The centralised kitchens are semi mechanised
units fitted with cutting edge cooking technology that allows for huge amounts
of food to be cooked in a very short amount of time. The kitchens are fitted
with huge cauldrons to cook rice and dal, as well as a roti making machine that
is capable of producing up to 60,000 rotis in an hour. To cater to the local
palate the food cooked as part of the menu includes tasty dishes like rice,
roti (Indian flatbread), sambar (vegetable stew), dal (dried pulses curry) and
tasty vegetable dishes. The decentralised kitchen is set up in locations where
road transport and infrastructural facilities are poor. Here Akshaya Patra
employs women from local self-help groups who undertake the cooking under the
guidance of Akshaya Patra personnel. The Foundation aims to provide a win-win
situation for both the beneficiaries and the donors. Therefore the organisation
ensures that the well-wishers enjoy the tax benefits of donations for every contribution above Rs.500.
The mid day meal programme in Odisha
has transformed the lives of over 50,000 children and counting. Through this
nutritious meal provided by the ngo in Orissa, children have an incentive to
attend school, and can now choose to get educated. Previously children were
often forced to drop out of school in order to help their families earn enough
for a daily meal. Through this scheme, the children are now given an
opportunity to get better health and learning at the same time. In addition to
this advantage are the tax benefits of donations that contributors enjoy.
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