Spreading Joy to School Children for 20 Years

The smiles on the faces of children, their chitter-chatter and the eyes that constantly look out for the blue delivery vans, are what keeps The Akshaya Patra Foundation going. What started as feeding 1,500 children in five Government schools of Bengaluru, Karnataka has grown to be recognised as the pioneer mid-day meal NGOs in India. The Foundation feeds the children who hail from challenging socio-economic backgrounds with nutritious school meals.

 

The foundation feeds children studying in 19,039 Government and Government-aided schools from its centralised and decentralised kitchens. As a part of the Mid-Day Meal Programme, locally palatable meals are served in 52 locations spread across 12 States and 2 Union Territories of India.

 

To know more about Akshaya Patra’s state-of-the-art kitchens, click here.

 

Akshaya Patra operates on a Public-Private Partnership model and has fed 1.8 million children every day without a break for the last 20 years. With the vision that ‘No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger,’ the organisation feeds with support from the Government of India, State Governments, corporate partners and philanthropic partners.

 

By implementing the Mid-Day Meal Programme, it aims to bring change by:

• ·         Improving the nutritional status of children
• ·         Helping children to attend school regularly
• ·         Providing physical and cognitive development

 

However, this year’s anniversary is a tad bit different. A mandate was issued for the closure of schools to curb the spread of COVID-19 amongst children. With schools being shut, mid-day meals were not being served. As a result of which, nutritional levels of children dropped drastically and they significantly lost weight. To continue its service towards children, The Akshaya Patra Foundation initiated the Happiness Kits Programme.

 

To read about Akshaya Patra’s COVID-19 Relief Service, click here.

 

Happiness Kits are distributed to every mid-day meal beneficiary to support their health, immunity, hygiene and education. Every child receives glucose biscuits, jaggery, peanuts, ragi flour and spices to support their health and boost immunity. To encourage hygiene practices in children, every mid-day meal beneficiary is provided with a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and sanitary pack (for girls). Educational supplies are also provided to each school child that comprises of activity workbooks and stationeries.

 

To know about Akshaya Patra’s Happiness Kits initiatives and feed the children, click here.

 

You can be a part of the 20^th year anniversary celebrations by joining Akshaya Patra in its feeding initiatives. Extend your support to feed the needy people of India and upkeep health and education of mid-day meal beneficiaries.

 

Our Latest Video: Bringing Education Closer to Communities

 

 

Bring a change with Akshaya Patra’s COVID-19 Relief Service

In the current crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of affected people is constantly on the rise. The world economy has taken a dip like never before with more number of people becoming jobless or suffering job insecurity. 

The labour force of India increased from 424 million in July to 428 million in August, implying that the number of unemployed people increased from 32 million to 36 million.

 

With majority of the labour force hailing from low-income sections of the society, how much they struggle to make ends meet, is unimaginable. There is one thing in common in the woes of these people – all of them only wish to survive the pandemic and their only need is something as basic as meals. The Government of India has started serving meals to feed the needy people and many non-profit organisations have joined hands. Many generous people donate to NGOs to help in reaching out to more people, even in the remotest areas of the country.

Akshaya Patra’s service to the needy

One NGO that supports the feeding of the needy is The Akshaya Patra Foundation. A cumulative of 9.2-crore meals have been served to people coming from challenging economic backgrounds. As a part of its COVID-19 Relief Service, nutritious, cooked meals are served and dry grocery kits are distributed. Freshly cooked meals help individuals in staying during the pandemic with a full stomach, whereas grocery kits help marginalised families sustain.

Currently the organisation feeds the needy people in Rajasthan, Gujarat, NCR, Punjab, West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.

 

Core service of Akshaya Patra

Akshaya Patra is one of the pioneer mid-day meal NGOs in India. Since March 2020, schools have been shut to contain the spread of the virus, it came up with an initiative to serve school children who depended on mid-day meals. It began the Happiness Kits Programme. As a part of this programme, mid-day meal beneficiaries are supported with nutrition, immunity-boosters, hygiene supplies and education materials.

 

To know what comes in a Happiness Kit, click here.

 

With each Happiness Kit, children are encouraged to pursue their education while nutritional items keep them going hungry amid the crisis.

 

Be a part of Akshaya Patra’s initiatives amid the ongoing COVID pandemic

You can be a part of Akshaya Patra in its COVID-19 Relief Services by:

·         Making online donations: Donate towards Akhaya Patra to bring about a positive change in the lives of people from low-income sections of the society.

·         Creating an online fundraiser: You can raise funds for the feeding of needy people with Akshaya Patra with simple steps like creating a title, choosing a target amount and promoting on social media platforms.

·         Going vocal on social media: You can promote about Akshaya Patra and its works by going vocal on social media platforms. Share posts, tweet, like and comment on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

 

Any and every support received from individuals is highly appreciated. Spread the word about us and bring about change in the lives of people.