Akshaya Patra’s Magnanimous Journey in Karnataka

We have served 2 billion meals. The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an NGO based out of Bengaluru, celebrated the serving of 2 billion mid-day meals, in the presence of Honourable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee. Having been in the service of children for 16 years now, this NGO for children is here to make a difference in many young lives by crafting a healthy future for them. Thanks to the Government of India for its outpouring support towards Akshaya Patra’s Mid-Day Meal Programme, there has been a steady rise in school attendance as well.

We are only a few days close to observing National Nutrition Week and while we will be discussing what ‘Nutrition’ means to us in our future blogs, let us brief you on how our journey of Mid-Day Meal Programme has panned out in Karnataka.

After Akshaya Patra stepped forward to provide mid-day meals to school children which would later go on to become the world’s largest NGO-run school lunch programme, the Indian government and many donors from across the globe have supported the initiative in many ways possible. Since its inception in 2000, Akshaya Patra has spread its wings across 11 states in the country feeding over 1.6 million children on every school day. This NGO for children believes that every child deserves a fair chance in the field of education and therefore, decided to fight classroom hunger through school lunch programme.

Our Journey of Unlimited Food for Education

• For Akshaya Patra, the journey began in 2000 with a feeding programme for 1,500 school children in Bengaluru

• The following year, the Government made it a right for every child studying in their schools to avail mid-day meals within the school premises

• In 2003, our Foundation became the first to take public-private partnership forward in social sector with the Government of Karnataka signing an MoU for MDM for children

• We went beyond Bengaluru. In 2004, we set up kitchens in Hubballi, Mangaluru and Mysore to feed more children

• In 2007, a second centralised kitchen was set up in Bengaluru in Vasanthpura, which currently feeds 1,01,541 children

• In 2012, Akshaya Patra served the billionth meal, one of the major milestones for this children’s NGO and in 2016, we crossed serving of 2 billion meals

Today, Akshaya Patra serves more than 5 lakh children in Karnataka alone. On this exceptional journey of defeating hunger among children, we urge you to join us and witness a changing society. If today’s children are fed nutritious meals and are ensured quality education, we will be creating a secure future not just for us but also for the next generation to come.

A famous proverb tells us that ‘little by little, little becomes a lot.’ To be able to feed 5 million children by 2020, we will need your help. You can donate an amount of your choice or you can sponsor a child by donating Rs 950. If changing a life makes you a proud citizen, then Akshaya Patra’s cause is for you!

NGO in Ahmedabad and its Mid-Day Meal

A land of legendary tales and a region with over 60 rivers, Gujarat is one of the states that Akshaya Patra has been able to connect with to implement a very promising Mid-Day Meal Programme. The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an NGO for children, which implemented the mid-day meal scheme in 2007 in Gujarat, aims to curb classroom hunger among government school children in India by providing freshly cooked meals for lunch. The Bengaluru-based organisation is set up as an NGO in Ahmedabad and many other cities and also has the permit to receive tax deductible donation.

In Gujarat alone, Akshaya Patra has set up three state-of-the-art kitchen facilities which distribute mid-day meals to over 400,158 school children. Quality being one of the highest priorities for Akshaya Patra, it has led the kitchens in the state to receive ISO certification. Through financial aid from donors and Government of Gujarat, Akshaya Patra has been able to stabilise its operations in all the three locations: Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat.

Here is Vikas Solanki’s story that could be synonymous to many other children’s scenario. Vikas, who lives near Vadodara is a young boy with dreams of becoming a Civil Engineer to work on construction projects. He is hopeful about his aspirations because his education is now a guarantee. We have observed that the children who come from an economically disadvantaged background, the only source of their survival is food. Ever since Akshaya Patra has stepped forward to feed hot and nutritious meals to millions of children in India, children's education has been a guarantee. Vikas and his sisters have been Akshaya Patra’s beneficiaries and the mid-day meal programme reduces the burden on this family.

In 2014, when the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Smt. Anandiben Patel inaugurated a fully-automated kitchen in Ahmedabad, she said, “If we can provide quality food to children through mid-day meals, we can drastically decrease the dropout ratio.” In 2010, Forbes Magazine rated Ahmedabad as the third fastest growing city in the world. However, in a study done by a chief economist at the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in 2011, states that Gujarat has high levels of hunger while it also boasts of high income. Such rankings not only indicate economic progress but also demand for stability.

Akshaya Patra, NGO for Children spreads across 10 states of India, is working towards a hunger-free nation especially among school children. Although there are many initiatives that The Foundation is proud of, the main focus continues to be hunger relief among school goers through nutritious mid-day meals every day! To ensure that a child is not deprived of education due to hunger, you can contribute Rs. 750 which feeds a child for an entire year! By donating, you can get your benefits too. When you donate Rs. 500 and over to Akshaya Patra, it will be considered as tax deductible donation.

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.