The Akshaya Patra Foundation Celebrates 16 Years of Unlimited Food for Education

The Akshaya Patra Foundation has completed 16 years and all along the Foundation has strived to address the two main issues: “classroom hunger” and “education,” by providing 1 nutritious meal to children in Government and Government-aided schools a day. The journey began in 2000, starting from with the feeding of 1,500 children in 5 schools in Bengaluru. Today, this serving bowl is going to reach 13,210 schools; feeding over 1.65 million children every day in 11 states through its 27 kitchens.

Apart from serving at school feeding, the foundation also feeds at Anganwadis children, lactating mothers, and expecting women. The aim of this feeding cycle is to provide nutritious meals from the beginning of the child’s life and to continue to nurture throughout the childhood, so that the child grows in the environment, where social equality is for real and every child is provided a chance to learn and bloom.

It works on a PPP (Public Private Partnership) model, where Central Government, State Governments, Corporates and individual donors contribute to the cause, and the Mid-Day Meal Programme of the Government is successfully implemented through the efficient workmanship of Akshaya Patra.

Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation said “It provides a great satisfaction to see the positive change, one meal can make in the children’s lives. 39% of our population are children and we would want them to be transformed as assets of our country, as against liability. My heartfelt thanks to the Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, all the State Governments, corporate and individual donors, who have constantly and whole heartedly contributed in upholding the philosophy of ‘unlimited food for education.’ ”

The not-for-profit organization has its conscious duty towards eliminating classroom hunger and promoting education – an earnest need of the hour. By leveraging the resources, they are all geared up and spurred to fulfil its mission of ‘feeding 5 million children by 2020.’ Implementation of Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) in Government and Government-aided schools is not only aimed to fight hunger but also to bring children to school.

Thank you for reading the story until the very end. We appreciate the time you have given us. In addition, your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please do drop in a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team