Making a Difference in Assam and Rest of India

This year, Akshaya Patra completes 16 years of its extensive journey aimed to feed the hungry children in India. In 2013, we met Durga Prasad—one of the students in Guwahati, Assam, who suffered from anorexia and malnourishment before he was enrolled in school. His teachers reported that in only a couple of years, Durga’s health had significantly improved after Akshaya Patra’s mid-day meal in Assam began to benefit his life.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an NGO in Assam and nine other states in India, has implemented Mid-Day Meal Scheme in many government schools to omit classroom hunger in India. In Assam particularly, the State Government invited Akshaya Patra to implement mid-day meal programme to reduce dropout rates and eliminate child labour in the state. In 2010, a centralised kitchen was set up in Guwahati—Assam’s largest city, which now serves over 53,000 children every day.

Since 2000, it has been the organisation’s vision that no child in India should be deprived of education due to hunger and envisages to feed 5 million children by 2020. One of the most important aspects of the organisation which has led the programme towards achievements is Compassion—when His Divine Grace AC Bhakivedanta Swami Prabhupada saw a group of children fighting with street dogs over scraps of food and decided that no child should go hungry in India.

Here are some of the progresses made by Akshaya Patra in the last 16 years:

• From 1500 school children in Bengaluru to over 1.5 million beneficiaries across 10 states in India
• Expanded its feeding initiative from mid-day meals to Anganwadi feeding, old-age homes, disaster relief and many more
• Upgraded the kitchen equipment to high-tech sustainable resources such as 304 grade stainless steel
• Stretched its presence towards different parts of the globe: the USA and UK

Certainly, The Foundation’s method to reach millions of children over the years has seen great success. With successful partnership with Central Government and State Governments, the Foundation has been able to make a massive difference in many children’s lives who are now assured of education and good health. It is due to adapting sustainable technology and resources and maintaining transparency in all its activities that it has been possible for Akshaya Patra to reach millions of children every day. More than 12 of Akshaya Patra’s kitchens have received ISO certification for they are a beacon of quality.

To add to its successes, Akshaya Patra Foundation won the prestigious Nikkei Asia Prize 2016 for its outstanding achievements in ‘Economic and Business Innovation’ category and for contributing towards a better future for Asia. So far, the mid-day meal programme has expanded from 1500 children to over 1.5 million children making it the world’s largest NGO -run Mid-Day Meal Scheme.

To end the lingering hunger among children, it costs Rs. 750 to feed a child for an entire year. You can get involved too by making this contribution and ensuring children in India do not go hungry.