Serving Over 1 Million Children as a NGO in Ahmedabad

July 2014 saw The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s operational expansion as a NGO in Ahmedabad. As a mid-day meal NGO, Akshaya Patra serves three locations in Gujarat namely, Vadodara, Surat and Ahmedabad. Among the three Vadodara is the first location where the organisation began serving food for children in Gujarat in November 2009. The Foundation’s beneficiary base of mid-day meal in Gujarat is one among the largest in the country. The NGO has been serving meals in Surat since June 2012. All the three locations operate centralised kitchens to prepare mid-day meals for nearly 400,158 children of 1,653 government schools in the region. As roti (Indian flat bread) is the staple diet of the region, all the three kitchens are equipped with roti making machine. These roti making machines has the capacity to roll out 40,000 rotis per hour. Alike kitchens in other states, the Gujarat kitchens also follow suit of catering to the local palate. Thus the menu here includes roti, rice, khichdi (lentils and rice), dal (lentil curry) and vegetable preparations.

In a recent development, the NGO in Ahmedabad inaugurated the first Food Safety and Quality Laboratory. This lab is a step towards further improving the safety and quality of mid-day meals cooked and served. Over the years the Foundation has fathomed the significance of providing nutritious and wholesome meal to school children. Each plate of mid-day meal has a story attached with it that gets realised with each passing day. The beneficiaries of the mid-day meals have hopes and aspirations to fulfil and these can get fulfilled by providing them with the basic need of food and education. Due to this Akshaya Patra strives to provide unlimited food for education. With the vision of ‘no child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger’; the Foundation strategically lays out its expansion plans to ensure sustainability of the programme in the current feeding locations.

Each of the beneficiaries of the NGO in Ahmedabad has their unique story to share. Similarly, mid-day meal in Gujarat has also been giving wings to many aspirations. The mid-day meal programme can bring changes in the lives of millions of children not just in Gujarat but in the entire nation. While the Foundation is working towards eliminating classroom hunger, it also acknowledges the fact that the implementation of the mid-day meal programme so extensively across the country would not have been possible without the involvement of philanthropic and benevolent donors and supporters. The organisation continues to remain grateful to all its supporters and allows various and innovative ways to get involved with the programme to further the cause. Get Involved will offer you a platform with various opportunities to support millions of children. Any kind of help goes a long way in the progress of a social cause. See how you can support mid-day meal programme in Gujarat and thereby become a part of the larger cause of eliminating classroom hunger and promoting education. Take a step towards change today!