NGO in Karnataka & Its Kitchen

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a mid-day meal NGO serving nutritious meals to 1.7 million children on every school day. Its journey as a mid-day meal NGO began in Bangalore in the year 2000. After the Supreme Court’s mandate in 2001, Akshaya Patra partnered with the Central Government and State Government to implement the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Karnataka and across India.

Akshaya Patra started off its mission to provide ‘unlimited food for education’ by establishing itself as an NGO in Bangalore and providing school meal to 1,500 children in five government schools from its first kitchen in H.K. Hill. Over the years, the Foundation has expanded its reach to seven locations in the state – three in Bangalore, and one each in Ballari, Hubballi, Mangaluru, and Mysuru. Currently, Akshaya Patra has a beneficiary base of 4,86,172 children across 2,968 schools.

Advantages of Mid-Day Meal Scheme

The Supreme Court’s mandate on 28 November 2001 directed all the State Governments and Union Territories to implement the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in every Government and Government assisted schools. As per the Scheme, every child must be provided with a prepared mid-day meal on every school day. The six main aims of this Scheme are:

• avoid classroom hunger
• increase school enrolment
• increase school attendance
• improve socialisation among castes
• address malnutrition
• empower women through employment

Being a mid-day meal NGO, Akshaya Patra strives to give these advantages of mid-day meal scheme to the each and every child of the state and the nation.

Akshaya Patra’s reach in Karnataka

Akshaya Patra serves nutritious mid-day meal in seven locations of Karnataka – three in Bangalore, and one each in Ballari, Hubballi, Mangaluru, and Mysuru. To know when the kitchens started its operation, visit: Kitchen details

All the kitchens in Karnataka are centralised and mechanised cooking units. Among all, H.K Hill and Vasanthapura kitchens are ISO 22000:2005 certified, whereas Ballari, and Hubballi are ISO 22000:2005, ISO 14001, and OHSAS 18001 certified. The Mangaluru, Mysuru and Jigani kitchens are in the process of certification.

Meal Menu of Karnataka Kitchens

Akshaya Patra wants to make sure that children enjoy their meals. Thus, while maintaining the recommended nutrition levels, the Foundation designs its meal menu to suit the local taste of a particular location. So, Karnataka being a South Indian state, the menu caters to the typical southern taste. The meal menu in Karnataka consists of: rice, pulao (a rice-based dish made with vegetables), bisibelebaath (a rice-based dish made with vegetables and lentils), tomato rice, sambar (a mixed vegetable and lentil curry), upma (a semolina-based savoury dish), sweet pongal (a rice-based sweet dish), payasam (a vermicelli-based sweet dish), kesari baath (a semolina-based sweet dish), curd, and pickle.
The prepared meals are delivered to schools in customised insulated vehicles. This allows children to receive fresh and hot meals. And, for this, each of the kitchens in Karnataka has their designated meal delivery vehicles.

Socio-developmental Initiatives
   
Aside from serving nutritious mid-day meals as an NGO in Bangalore and in Karnataka, Akshaya Patra has also partaken several socio-developmental initiatives as follow:
                                                           
• Sponsoring hygiene practice & food safety guidance to government school students
• Planting of saplings on World Environment Day
• Distribution of 7500 Hygiene kits to Government School students
• Blood Donors Camp on Blood Donation Day
• Scholarship for Merit Students
• Teachers Day programme

Eco-friendly methods in Karnataka kitchens

While ensuring that the advantages of mid-day meal scheme reach every child in the state, Akshaya Patra also implements various eco-friendly measures to benefit the environment. Some measures are as follows:

• Biogas stoves that are smokeless have replaced LPG.     
• The recycled water from the Sewage Treatment Plant is used to water plants
• Effluent Treatment Plant/ Sewage treatment Plants are installed to treat wastewater before it is released into the environment
• Rainwater harvesting
• Solar lights and solar heater as an alternate source to reduce the use of electricity.

Make a difference

Akshaya Patra is striving to make a tangible, sustainable, and lasting change. In doing so, it is putting all its efforts to provide something as basic as food to maximum children. As responsible citizens, it is our duty too to ensure children receive healthy meals and education. Thus, support the efforts of Akshaya Patra by contributing NGO online donations. By contributing just Rs. 950, you can provide a year full of school meal to a child!

NGO in Andhra Pradesh & Its Kitchen

The Central Mid-Day Meal Scheme is a government initiative to provide freshly cooked nutritious lunch to government and government-aided school children. Over the years, this Scheme has turned out to be a strong medium in the progress of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan. And, so that the benefits reach each and every child, many NGOs have stepped forward to expand this Scheme by partnering with the Central Government and State Governments. One such NGO is The Akshaya Patra Foundation that began its journey as a mid-day meal NGO in Andhra Pradesh in 2008.

Akshaya Patra’s reach in Andhra Pradesh

Akshaya Patra began implementing the mid-day meal programme in Andhra Pradesh by establishing its first centralised kitchen in Vishakhapatnam in 2008. Gradually, it expanded its reach by establishing centralised kitchens in Kakinada (2015), Mangalagiri (2016), and Nellore (2017). All the kitchens are 5S and GMP standardised huge cooking units. They strictly adhere to hygiene and cleanliness standards and implement Kaizen, Continuous Improvement Projects and Six Sigma methodologies to improve productivity and efficiency of operational processes. By implementing the mid-day meal scheme in Andhra Pradesh, Akshaya Patra currently provides freshly cooked wholesome school lunch to 74,409 children in 370 schools.

Meal Menu of Andhra Pradesh kitchens

So that children enjoy and eat their school lunch readily, Akshaya Patra has designed its meal menu to suit the local taste of a particular location by maintaining the nutritional quality intact. The items served to children in Andhra Pradesh as part of the school lunch are: rice, vegetable biryani (a popular rice dish), pulihora (tamarind rice), sambar (a mixed vegetable and lentil curry), green leafy vegetable dal (lentil curry), pappucharu (a type of sambar), vegetable curry, raitha (a curd-based side dish), janthikalu (a South Indian savoury snack), sweet pongal (a rice-based sweet dish), and banana.

The prepared meals are delivered to schools in customised insulated delivery vehicles. This helps to retain freshness until it is consumed. Each of the four kitchens in Andhra Pradesh has their designated meal delivery vehicles to deliver meals to children on every school day.

You can make a difference

As a mid-day meal NGO in Andhra Pradesh, Akshaya Patra wants to benefit more children with the goodness of nutritious school lunch. Though the NGO operates in a Public-Private Partnership model and receives government aid to run the programme, it requires support and involvement of the civil society too. It takes just Rs. 950 to feed a child for the entire year. Along with supporting healthy growth in children, this meal gives them an opportunity to attend school and get educated. It upholds the dreams and hopes of children and instils the determination to achieve it. Not 10, but you can always make a difference by feeding at least 1 child. Sponsor a child, today!

NGO in Telangana & Its Kitchen

According to the ‘Telangana Socio-Economic Outlook 2018’, there is a substantial discrepancy in literacy rate across the state. While Hyderabad fairs significantly with 83.2%, Jogulamba Gadwal district is struggling with 49.9% literacy rate. It has been reported that of the total 31 districts, 26 districts have literacy rates below the State average of 66.54%. In order to bring the low scoring districts at par with the high scoring districts, the government is putting in lot of efforts. In support of the government’s effort, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an NGO in Hyderabad began its mid-day meal service in the state in 2008.

Purpose of mid-day meal programme

On 28 November 2001, the Supreme Court of India passed a mandate stating, "We direct the State Governments/Union Territories to implement the Mid-Day Meal Scheme by providing every child in every Government and Government assisted Primary School with a prepared mid-day meal." Through this scheme it was intended to:

• avoid classroom hunger
• increase school enrolment
• increase school attendance
• improve socialisation among castes
• address malnutrition
• empower women through employment

Headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, Akshaya Patra wanted to give these advantages of mid-day meal scheme to the children of India. Hence, after its inception in 2000, the NGO started expanding its reach across the country. The Foundation made its foray to Telangana by establishing its first kitchen in Hyderabad in 2008. Currently, this NGO is feeding a total of 91,675 children in 805 government schools across the state.

Akshaya Patra Kitchens in Telangana

Beginning its journey in 2008, today Akshaya Patra is providing mid-day meal in Telangana from its three centralised kitchens located in Hyderabad, Narsingi, and Kothagudem. Recently, the Foundation inaugurated its fourth kitchen in Kandi and it is the NGO’s largest one-of-a-kind hi-tech mega kitchens. Equipped to feed 1-lakh children per day, this kitchen was built in partnership with the Infosys Foundation.

With a grant of INR 18.50 crore, Infosys Foundation funded the entire construction cost of this kitchen. Alike all Akshaya Patra kitchens, the Telangana kitchens strictly adhere to hygiene and cleanliness standards in all its kitchen processes too. To improve productivity and efficiency of operational processes, Kaizen, Continuous Improvement Projects and Six Sigma methodologies are a part of a Telangana’s kitchen operations.

The kitchens of Telangana feature all the aspects of centralised kitchens such as cauldrons, trolleys, rice chutes, grinding machines, RO plants, and the like. Each of the kitchens has dedicated customised delivery vehicles to transport cooked meals to all beneficiary schools. The NGO in Hyderabad makes use of biogas briquettes and solar power as form of fuel and energy to operate the kitchen.

Menu of Telangana kitchens

Akshaya Patra has designed its meal menu to suit the local taste so that children enjoy their meal to the utmost. In line with the same, some of the menu items served to children in Telangana are: rice, lemon rice, sambar (a mixed vegetable and lentil curry), sundal (a South Indian dish, a dry legume-lentil preparation spiced, tempered, along with fresh coconut), pappu (a type of South Indian lentil curry), tomato pappu, vegetable biryani (a popular rice dish), and vegetable korma (an Indian dish made with vegetables and yogurt)

Socio-developmental initiatives

Besides providing mid-day meal, the Hyderabad kitchen is also involved in various socio-developmental initiatives to ensure betterment of the beneficiaries and the society. Some of the initiatives are:

• Conducting awareness programmes
• Life skills programme
• Scholarship programme
• Anganwadi Feeding
• Feeding expecting and lactating mothers

As a mid-day meal NGO, Akshaya Patra wants to multiply its reach so that many more children receive the advantages of mid-day meal scheme. For this, the NGO operates in a Public-Private Partnership model, and while it is receiving aid from government, it also requires support and involvement of the civil society. Partake in the Foundation’s endeavour of providing ‘unlimited food for education’. Choose to donate to charity by either contributing funds online, sponsoring a school for a year or by donating a meal delivery vehicle. Your one contribution can make a huge difference in a child’s life. And, did you know that you can feed a child for the entire year with just Rs. 950!

NGO in Rajasthan & Its Kitchen

Reportedly, Rajasthan is the seventh most populated state in India. Of its total population, 24% is aged between six and fourteen. And, the question of concern is its education scenario. Rajasthan has the fourth lowest literacy rate in the country and has the lowest female literacy rate of just 52.66% (Census 2011). The state is also haunted by high rate of out of school and school drop-out rate. Rajasthan reported a 6.6% improvement in its literacy rate in ten years as against a countrywide improvement of 9.2%. It is one of the four BIMARU states that has lowest literacy rate and learning outcomes; the other states being Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. To address this situation, several measures have been taken by the government, and the Mid-Day Meal Scheme is one such intervention. As a supporting arm to the government’s effort, The Akshaya Patra Foundation is serving mid-day meals to more than one lakh government school children by operating as a NGO in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Nathdwara, Ajmer, and Baran.

The Foundation has been providing mid-day meal in Rajasthan since 2004 by establishing its first kitchen in Jaipur. Currently, Akshaya Patra feeds a total of 1,70,723 children in 2,672 government schools across the state. The NGO operates two types of kitchen in the state – centralised kitchens and decentralised kitchens. The centralised kitchens serve children in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Nathdwara, and Ajmer whereas decentralised kitchens provide meals in the Baran region. Of the four centralised kitchens, three kitchens namely Jaipur, Nathdwara, and Ajmer are ISO 22000:2005 certified kitchens and the Jodhpur kitchen is in the process of certification.

The hi-tech centralised kitchens of the Foundation are equipped with roti-making machines, grinding machines, potato peeler machines, vegetable cutting machines, daliya roasting woks, atta kneaders, flour mill machines, cauldrons, trolleys, RO plants, rice-cleaning machines. Each of the kitchens has dedicated customised delivery vehicles. To suit the local taste, the kitchens follow a North Indian menu comprising of roti (Indian flatbread), dal (lentil curry),  rice, mixed vegetable curry, kadhi (curd-based curry), biscuits, khichdi (a dish made of rice, lentils, and vegetables), sweet daliya (a cereal-based dish), cake, biscuit, and kheer (rice-based Indian dessert).

Similar to all kitchens of the Foundation, the Rajasthan kitchens strictly adhere to hygiene and cleanliness practices while preparing meals. Kaizen, Continuous Improvement Projects and Six Sigma methodologies form an integral part of these kitchens too. While providing wholesome mid-day meals to school children in Rajasthan, this NGO in Jaipur also implements various eco-friendly measures in its kitchen operations to save cost and reduce carbon footprint while maintaining efficiency of production. Some of the initiatives taken in the kitchens of Rajasthan are:

• Solar power panels
• Sewage Treatment Plant
• Reed bed plant
• Liquid Off Take (LOT) system to reduce LPG consumption
• Regular lab testing for emission, air etc.

The Foundation has not stopped at just providing mid-day meal in Rajasthan, rather it has also been actively involved in various socio-developmental initiatives such as Shoes Distribution, Talents Hunt, and Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan.

Akshaya Patra wants to expand its reach and benefit more children in the state. But, in doing so, it requires your support. You can be a part of the NGO’s mission to nourish children by either opting to contribute funds, donate a vehicle to deliver meals to schools or by adopting a school. By contributing towards the NGO’s cause you will ensure that children receive at least one nutritious meal per day. It will also make you a changemaker striving for a healthy and educated tomorrow. Take a step for children, support their meal, and get prepared to witness a nourished and educated India.

5 Advanced Technologies Adopted in Akshaya Patra Kitchens

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a mid-day meal NGO in India. It has been in the service of children since 2000. The Foundation has been recognised as the world’s largest NGO-run school meal programme. It runs the programme in a Public-Private Partnership model receiving aid from Central and various State Governments including help from Corporate and individual donors. The NGO aims to provide unlimited food for education and is aware of its responsibility in providing nutritious, hygienic, and clean food to children. Typically, a centralised Akshaya Patra kitchen has the capacity to cook up to 100,000 meals and to increase efficiency and productivity, the Foundation has adopted various technologies in the kitchen operations. Several Corporate partners have helped the Foundation in the endeavour of introducing technological intervention in the kitchens. Here are five main technologies adopted in the kitchens:

1. Roti-making machine – Since roti (Indian flatbread) is a staple item in the North Indian menu, the North Indian kitchens are equipped with roti making machines, with the capacity to roll out up to 200,000 rotis from 6000 kilograms of wheat flour. This enhances hygiene and efficiency since the whole process is mechanised and there is minimal human intervention.

2. Hot insulated vessels and vehicles – The Foundation makes use of hot insulated vessels and vehicles to pack and deliver cooked meals to schools. The use of insulation technology ensures that the meals remain fresh until it is consumed by children. To aid this, State Bank of India, one of The Foundation’s Corporate partners have recently contributed INR 88 lakhs for the procurement of insulated vessels.

3. Conveyor belt – In order to increase efficiency during the loading process, the kitchens are equipped with conveyor belts. After packing, the containers are sent on a conveyor belt that gets loaded into customised insulated meal delivery vehicles.

4. GPRS in meal delivery vans – The Foundation has incorporated GPRS technology in its meal delivery vehicles to ensure safety and on-time delivery of meals.

5. Eco-friendly interventions - Aside from regular technological interventions, the NGO has also adopted green technologies such as biogas plant, briquette boiler, and solar power in some of its kitchens to reduce carbon footprint and operational cost.

Recently, the Foundation inaugurated its hi-tech mega kitchen at Kandi, Telangana. This is the largest among all the existing kitchens. The Infosys Foundation, one of the NGO’s Corporate partners have funded the construction of this mega kitchen. Some of the salient technologies in this kitchen are:

• Silikal Industrial Flooring - It is a completely non-porous, seamless, sealed surface thereby reducing the colonization by microbes and bacteria and contributing to better hygiene. It is skid resistant and prevents accidental slips and falls, plus it has a long durability with limited maintenance and lower lifecycle cost. 
• ReFlex Reverse Osmosys System – It is a water purifying system to make water more potable. Flexible operation and resistance to scaling and fouling greatly improve the reliability of ReFlex RO systems. 
• COMBLOCK Boiler for Steam Generation – It is the latest in Boiler Technology which combines the best of Integrated Furnace Boiler and Hybrid Boiler. While increasing efficiency by up to 85%, it can also reduce carbon footprint by up to 40%. 
• ANDICOS Waste to Energy Generation System – It is a technology to treat a combination of solid waste generated in sewage treatment process and organic kitchen waste generated in the kitchen. 

To know more about the technologies used, visit: Kandi Kitchen

The ReFlex Reverse Osmosys System and ANDICOS Waste to Energy Generation System are the first of its kind technologies in India. Aside from the above-mentioned technologies, this NGO in India has also adopted Kaizen, Continuous Improvement Projects, and Six Sigma methodologies as an integral part of kitchen operations.  

By taking these measures Akshaya Patra is continuously improvising and enhancing its role as a mid-day meal NGO. And, these features are solely being adopted in Akshaya Patra kitchens to enhance hygiene, increase operational efficiency, reduce cost, reduce carbon footprint, and most importantly to provide nutritious and safe meals to over 1.7 million children across 12 states of India, on every school day.

An NGO in India has adopted Kaizen technology

In pursuit of continuous improvement, several Industries and businesses across the globe have adopted Kaizen as an integral part of their operational processes. ‘Kaizen’ is a Japanese word meaning ‘improvement’. It is a Japanese philosophy referring to activities for continuous improvement of functions and processes of an organisation and personal efficiency too. Implementation of Kaizen philosophy is a regular sight in various manufacturing industries, logistics companies, and the like.

Cognizant of the improved efficiency and productivity, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an NGO in India has adopted Kaizen in its processes. Akshaya Patra is a mid-day meal NGO serving school lunch to 17,12,460 children in 36 kitchens across 12 states of India, every day. For this, the NGO operates centralised kitchens in urban and semi-urban areas, and decentralised kitchens in remote areas. The centralised kitchens have the capacity to cook up to 1 lakh meals each day and serves meals to schools located in its area and neighbouring areas, whereas decentralised kitchens concentrate in providing meals to located within its immediate reach. In order to enhance its efficiency and increase its productivity, Akshaya Patra implements Kaizen in its kitchen operations. This method is followed in each kitchen unit to innovate, rethink, and reassess work, and implement efficient procedures.

To appreciate and encourage the use of Kaizen philosophy, the Foundation regularly recognises and rewards innovative practices. Here are some of the improvements from across different kitchens of this NGO in India:

Lid steriliser at Vadodara kitchen, Ahmedabad

Tool shadow board at Vasanthapura kitchen, Bengaluru

Increase in per hour roti production batches at Ajmer kitchen, Rajasthan

Air powered grease gun at Bellary kitchen, Karnataka

The above-mentioned were just a few mentions of the many Kaizen interventions in the kitchens of Akshaya Patra. The Foundation is a recipient of Indizen Award, CII National Food Safety Award, Lean Six Sigma Award, Quality Mark Award, and Asian MAKE Award by CII. Aside from Kaizen, this NGO in India also adopts Six Sigma methodologies and undertakes several Continuous Improvement Projects so that resources can be maximised, productivity can be doubled, quality can be enhanced, and service to children can be multiplied.

How mid-day meal plays an important role in Government Schools

 The Mid-Day Meal Scheme is one of the most important interventions by Government of India to promote education. On 28 November 2001, the Supreme Court of India passed a mandate stating, "We direct the State Governments/Union Territories to implement the Mid-Day Meal Scheme by providing every child in every Government and Government assisted Primary School with a prepared mid-day meal." Hence, under this scheme, children of government school receive free and nutritious meals on school days. It has been observed that the Mid-Day Meal Scheme has had a significant impact on the nutritional and educational status of children. During 2016-17, 9.78-crore children from 11.40-lakh schools had benefited from this scheme. 

The government encourages the participation of NGOs by providing ample support with the intention to multiply the mid-day meal benefits i.e.:

•    avoid classroom hunger
•    increase school enrolment
•    increase school attendance
•    improve socialisation among castes
•    address malnutrition
•    empower women through employment

Since NGOs work at the grass root level and the role of NGOs is very crucial in furthering the benefits of mid-day meal, the government has set certain criterions as per NP-NSPE guidelines to select a partner NGO. Only upon fulfilment of the criterions the NGO will be considered for government partnership and also receive aid from the government in the form of grants and subsidies. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one of the main mid-day meal NGOs in India that fulfil and adheres to the NP-NSPE guidelines. The NGO had begun implementing the mid-day meal programme in June 2000. And, after the Supreme Court’s mandate, it partnered with the government to continue the programme. This partnership was a welcome progression for the Foundation in providing nutritious meals and supporting the education of children.

Undeniably, school plays an important role in the socio-economic development of society. It is a place where children from various backgrounds mingle together promoting the culture of unity and brotherhood. The education they receive at school prepare them to achieve their goals and become successful in their lives. But, children of government schools mostly come from economically challenged backgrounds. So, even though education schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan are being implemented, the difficult financial conditions force these children to choose work over school. And, this is where the real potential of mid-day meal surfaces. Mid-day meal acts as an attractive incentive for parents to send their children to school with the sole hope that the young ones will receive at least one plate full of meal for the day. Thus, by giving the assurance of food, the Mid-Day Meal Scheme brings children to school, regularises attendance, checks drop-out rate, and helps children to receive the education they rightfully deserve.

Akshaya Patra is aware of the tangible and sustainable impact of mid-day meal. Hence, taking the onus, it conducts regular impact studies of its school lunch programme, the results of which are heartening. The several impact studies suggest that there has been a marked improvement in factors related to enrolment, attendance, health, and socialisation. To multiply this impact and bring more children under the purview of its school lunch programme, Akshaya Patra seeks supporting hands. And to make it easy for donors, it offers a quick and secure online platform. Through this platform, one can donate for the mid-day meal programme instantly from anywhere and at any time, with the provision of receiving tax exemption benefits too. It will be worth a step if you donate to charity. It will provide food and education to many deserving children while making you an important link in the chain of social development and national progress.