Why Elimination of Hunger Is A Cause We Should All Invest In?

How we take our life on Earth for granted? We hear and witness hard-hitting headlines around the world, of thousands of lives affected every day. One such issue is hunger, a forlorn state where lives get defeated fighting for food. Hunger is the number one cause of death in the world with 795 million of the total world’s population sleeping hungry every day. And out of which 212 million belong to India itself.

At The Akshaya Patra Foundation, each stomach that goes empty is important. Our Mid-Day Meal Programme attempts to feed the hungry with a focus on children going to schools. Did you know that one of the most powerful economies of the world – India – is also home to one-third of world's hungry? As many as 3000 children are becoming victims of hunger and malnutrition every day. Is there a more pressing reason why you should contribute to eradicate hunger?

Is that my cause?

Many of you often think about social causes, to invest a share of your income for a cause you believe in. But then the whole process of making the effort seems challenging and you eventually abandon the thought.

When Akshaya Patra made the ambition of feeding 5 million children in the country by 2020, the organisation was confident that hunger was a cause worth investing in. While most of you think that the role of NGOs is to help the underprivileged groups, you somehow settle with the idea that this cause is not for you. However, Akshaya Patra knows the value of each coin, humbly acknowledging that we cannot run our school lunch programme without your help. The reason why we have several members, workers, volunteers and donors working tirelessly each day is because we all understand that elimination of hunger can safeguard the future of our children.

School children need your attention

Children are the future of the nation and to build a great future, we need to serve them in the present. Hunger prevents them from going to school, playing and learning. Hunger often strips the children off their precious childhood as they are compelled to earn their living.

So Akshaya Patra realised that the most vital demographic in the quest for feeding the hungry is children. Do you think so too? If yes, we urge you to sponsor a child throughout his academic year by investing Rs 750. The small act with a great thought creates a huge difference in their lives. When you choose to sponsor a child, you directly contribute in the making of a complete citizen. Of course, your donation is exempted from taxes.

Today hunger is a challenge before the literate and the healthy. We all need to conspire against hunger if we truly wish to create an equal and competitive society. Small deeds often bring big changes. Donate your share and take responsibility to eliminate hunger in India.

Make the World a Better Place for Our Children

Happy Universal Children’s Day!

Childhood is one of the most beautiful periods in life and every child should get an opportunity to enjoy it.  This is why November 20 is observed as Universal Children’s Day every year! The whole idea behind this celebration is improving children’s lives and making the world a better place for them. 

Living conditions of children have improved over the past few years.  However, some issues like poverty, child labour and hunger continue to haunt our children. Nearly 400 million children across the world still live in extreme poverty and do not get access to nutrition or education. The most concerning part is that a majority of these children live in developing countries, including India.

We are yet to get rid of classroom hunger or malnutrition. However, nutritional status of Indian children has improved considerably over the past few years and a major part of this credit goes to the Government and NGOs like The Akshaya Patra Foundation.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a leading NGO in India, had been trying to improve our children’s lives by distributing nutritious mid-day meals to school children in India. Starting the initiative with 1,500 school children in 2000, Akshaya Patra has succeeded in releasing 1.4 million children from the clutches of hunger. 

Interestingly, these mid-day meals have not only helped improve classroom attendance, but also have helped improve confidence in children.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s mission is to reach 5 million children by 2020 so that more children will get an opportunity to  eat healthy and get proper education.

Children are the future of a nation. On this Universal Children’s Day, join Akshaya Patra to fight classroom hunger and return the right to education to our lovely children.

Knowing an effective organisation like Akshaya Patra

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or Charities are expressions of people working for people. They are groups of ordinary citizens making efforts to change lives for the better. NGOs come in different lights with an array of activities depending on support, cause and values. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one amongst millions of NGOs in the world striving to make an impact and transform lives of millions of children in India.

Akshaya Patra operates at its best working in partnership with The Government of India and the state governments, with the help of its supporters and staff towards professional ways of working and effective, high-impact programme that provides mid-day meals to school children in government and government-aides schools. It’s effective because its cause is clear and the vision and mission are defined and imbibed by all associated with the organisation.

The organisation is able to work to its strength by mobilising the skills of its workforce. For Akshaya Patra, its impact is proportional to response to the need and the bond its builds with all involved with the cause. The trust of beneficiaries, school teachers, trustees, donors, partners and all other stakeholder is the backbone of the organisation. Its size and reach are just mere reflections to the effort.

And anyone who wants to support needs to know whether the organisation deserves it; does the cause needs it? and so on. To make the decision easy Akshaya Patra has clearly explained its vision, mission and programme it is implementing. It shares its impact study, progresses and strategies in taking the cause forward. The organisation has explained the motivation for its programme, how it works towards a positive change that is eliminating classroom hunger. The Akshaya Patra Foundation works with a strong internal system, and applies professional standards and codes of conduct to its work. And of course its ultimate judges are the beneficiaries. Akshaya Patra runs the world’s largest mid-day meal programme providing nutritious food to more than 1.4 million children in India. It’s growing, moving towards its mission of feeding 5 million by 2020.

Matter of Rs. 750

In current times, when we think of shopping does Rs. 750 have much value? How many items can Rs.750 buy for us from the menu of a posh restaurant? If we walk into a branded store, would it be a joke if we are carrying just Rs. 750 with us?  Leave aside the above expenses, but if we just focus on running a week’s expense with Rs. 750, does it seem anywhere near to ‘possible’? More often than not, all of the above instances will repeatedly bring us to only one conclusion i.e. Rs.750 is of not much value in today’s world.

Now let’s look at a different scenario. It has been witnessed that for more than a decade The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a mid-day meal NGO has been feeding over 1.4 million children at a cost of Rs. 750 per child for an entire year. This means to say Akshaya Patra needs just Rs.750 to feed mid-day meal to one child for an entire school year! The question arises how does Akshaya Patra do so?

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is actively involved in implementing the Central Mid-Day Meal Scheme for the past 15 years. It is operational in 24 locations covering Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Odisha, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. Reaching out to more than 10,000 Government schools, it provides mid-day meal to over 1.4 million children every day. Akshaya Patra works in a Public Private Partnership model where it receives support from the Central and State Governments in the form of grants and subsidies. This model of operation allows Akshaya Patra to receive funds and resources from both individual and organisational donors.

Akshaya Patra is the pioneer in using technology in the mid-day meal sector. It harnesses the potential of technology to optimise and enhance kitchen processes and operations to provide fresh, hygienic, nutritious and tasty meal to the children. The acumen to utilise and manage resources in a well-planned, strategic and sustainable manner allows Akshaya Patra to dish out meals for a child at Rs. 750 for an entire year.

Click Stories of Hope to see the transformations that Rs. 750 has made over the years. Click here to see which Bollywood actor is campaigning to contribute Rs. 750.

So next time you have Rs. 750 with you, remember it is much more valuable than it appears!

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Feeding the future of India

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an Indian NGO implementing the Central Mid-Day Meal Scheme across Government schools. It was initiated in the year 2000 in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Initially it began feeding in five Government schools of the Bengaluru city. Witnessing the overwhelming response for the need of the programme, Akshaya Patra strategically began expanding its operations to other parts of the state and eventually to other states of India. Currently, Akshaya Patra is feeding Government school children of 24 locations across 10 states namely: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. In total, Akshaya Patra feeds more than 1.4 million children every day across the country.

These beneficiaries come from humble background but bring with them high aspirations. They are determined enough to not let their unfavourable socio-economic status come as a hurdle when it is the question of pursuing their dreams. At Akshaya Patra, each meal has its own unique story. Hence, the NGO ensures that it provides nutritious, hygienic and tasty food on each day. It also designs its menu based on the location to cater to the local palate. For example: the menu of Akshaya Patra kitchen at Karnataka will cater to South Indian palate whereas the menu item of Akshaya Patra Gujarat will cater to North Indian palate.

Over the years of implementation of mid-day meal, the Government of India along with partner NGOs has witnessed positive impact on the growth, development and regularity to school among children. Studies have also brought to fore that there has been increase in enrolment and attendance, also decreasing the rate of dropout. Mid-Day Meal Scheme has shown significant results in countering classroom hunger among children. These positive alterations during the growth years of children give them the confidence to lead a self-sustaining life in the future. It instils in them the determination and certainty of being able to come out of the vicious cycle of poverty, hunger and illiteracy.

Join Akshaya Patra in feeding the future of India and creating sustainable assets.

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Akshaya Patra’s Surat kitchen inaugurated

Akshaya Patra’s Surat kitchen was inaugurated on 15th February 2015 by Chielf Minister of Gujarat, Anandiben Patel. Along with her was Nanubhai Vanani, Minister of State (Primary, Secondary & Adult) and several other Government officials and dignitaries from the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

This centralised kitchen by The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been sponsored by the SMC and ONGC. This highly mechanised kitchen has replaced the interim kitchen running in Surat from June 2012-14. The kitchen is equipped with a roti making machine, steam generation facility for cooking, seven stage rice cleaning machine, vegetable cutting machine and much more. The kitchen also has 41 customised meal delivery vehicles to carry the Akshaya Patra food to over 1.6 lakh children in the beneficiary schools.

When arriving at the Akshaya Patra kitchen in Surat, Anandiben Patel was greeted by the Vice Chairman of Akshaya Patra, Chanchalapathi Dasa. She inaugurated the kitchen by cutting the ribbon and taking part in the lighting of the lamp ceremony. The event included a kitchen tour, and flagging off the meal delivery vans.

After felicitating the donors of the kitchen Anandiben Patel addressed the media on the new Akshaya Patra kitchen. She and the other dignitaries also took part in serving the Akshaya Patra mid-day meal to some beneficiary students.

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Providing support through adversity

There are many children who cannot dream of attending school, not just because of they are underserved in terms of poverty, but also in terms of enabling facilities. Young Bhanuchander from Telangana is just one of the thousands of children in India suffering from Polio, which makes it impossible for him to walk.

His grandmother, who he calls Ammamma has taken care of Bhanu since he was born. Despite the fact that she suffers from asthma, Ammamma is committed to pushing Bhanu’s wheel chair to the school and back every day.

However there are days when she is too ill or weak to push Bhanu’s wheel chair to school, and he has to miss school. Bhanu’s uncle works as a daily wage earner, an uncertain occupation that on some days yields no money. On days when he does not manage to earn any income the family has to sleep on an empty stomach.

Bhanu especially because of his tender young age and physical ailments requires a steady supply of nutritious food to develop healthily. At school he is a beneficiary of the Akshaya Patra mid-day meal, which has proved to be a blessing for this small family. By eating the tasty, nutritious food every day, even Bhanu’s teachers have faith that he, like many others in the school, will be able to grow healthy and overcome the challenges they face.

Ammamma expresses her relief that Bhanu can reply on the Akshaya Patra mid-day meal saying, “My grandson is happy to go to school since he gets hot food, snacks and fruits also. I can't afford any of these constantly.” Aside from providing children like Bhanu healthy food to combat malnutrition, it also brings Akshaya Patra pleasure to help ease the burden from struggling, devoted family members like Bhanu’s  Ammamma.

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Engineering a way forward

Meghashree dreams of becoming a Software Engineer when she grows up. A studious, young girl of 15 years, she studies in Standard X at the Sharada Vilas High School in Mysore.

Akshaya Patra Foundation – A Promise for a Better Future

The potential of a mid day meal is underrated sometimes. A mid day meal is more about free food that acts as an incentive for children to attend school; it’s a promise of a future. A child who has turned to labor only dreams of getting his next meal. Hunger acts as an obstacle, holding them back from realizing their dreams.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation believes that the delight and potential of one mid day meal goes far beyond just filling a hungry stomach. It equals an opportunity for education, ambition and a future.

Mid Day Meal Programme provides Food for Children Education in India

Akshaya Patra’s mid day meal programme provides food for children education, covering over 9,000 schools in nine states in India every day. Akshaya Patra’s distribution of free meals to government schools was initially an initiative undertaken to feed hungry children, but had a much deeper impact.

The agony of an empty stomach, day after day, leaves no option for a child but to turn to child labor as a last resort to secure at least a single meal for a day. A direct relation can be made between food and education.  Free meals in schools act as an incentive for children to enroll, attend and complete school to receive a wholesome, tasty meal every day. Education has the potential to eliminate illiteracy and poverty, and the mid day meal programme aims to counter both these issues.

Story of Akshaya Patra Foundation

How it began

All this while, we have been reading inspirational studies about little kids who are able to build their dreams mainly due to the free mid day meal that they get from The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Now let’s take a peek into how this entire programme that feeds 1.3 million children in our country came about. Let us get an insight into how the idea of a mid-day meal programme grew in leaps and bounds to become The Akshaya Patra Foundation.

While on a recent visit to the first five schools that The Akshaya Patra Foundation started serving at, we met Venu Vadana Gopal Das, the individual who went in search of schools that required the free mid day meal facility. “Once the idea was conceptualised, I was asked to go explore surrounding areas in Bangalore and find out about the need for a mid day meal programme. I knew that the outskirts and rural areas will be our prime targets. I visited Government schools in areas like Peenya, Chikkabidarakally and Makali and was moved by the plight of the kids there” he reminisced.

“Then we approached these schools and recorded the attendance and started serving. It was just five schools that Akshaya Patra Foundation served at in the beginning. It was on 3rd July, 2000 that we first fed to these schools; a total of 1500 children,” he said.

When asked about the major challenges that Akshaya Patra Foundation faced in the beginning, Venu Vadana Gopal Das said, “Our main challenge was the lack of vessels for rice and sambar, and a vehicle to transport the food. We had to hire transport vehicles from outside and send food from The Akshaya Patra Foundation. However, thanks to the support from the Government and also volunteers who donated generously and today we are able to feed 1.3 million children. Akshaya Patra Foundation hopes to feed all the children in our country and wipe out classroom hunger.”

The Akshaya Patra Foundation implements the mid-day meal programme under the aegis of Central Government and various State Governments. Though the principal role of Akshaya Patra Foundation is to provide mid day meal, yet it greatly emphasizes on education too. “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger” is the vision statement of the Akshaya Patra Foundation.

Currently, the total reach of Akshaya Patra Foundation can be witnessed in 19 locations of 9 states in India namely Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. On the whole the Akshaya Patra Foundation in India feeds in more than 9000 Government schools, every day.

Apart from the primary mid day meal programme, Akshaya Patra Foundation has also taken up other feeding initiatives like:

• Feeding expecting and lactating mothers
• Feeding in special schools
• Subsidized lunch for the economically backward
• Feeding runaway children
• Feeding in old-age homes
• Feeding the homeless
• Disaster relief

Social initiatives like after-class tuitions, life skills programme, community health camps, scholarship programmes, disaster relief and health check-up camps also find its place in the Akshaya Patra Foundation.The many positive impacts the mid-day meal programme has brought about are substantial. Increase in number of primary school enrolments, improved daily school attendance, better concentration and performance level of the children and visible decrease in school drop-out rate are the core areas of achievement of this programme. Through the implementation of the mid-day meal programme Akshaya Patra Foundation strives to counter the twin challenges of hunger and illiteracy.

The mission of Akshaya Patra Foundation is to feed 5 million children by 2020 and through the motto of “Unlimited food for education” Akshaya Patra Foundation is gradually treading towards nourishing the future of India.

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