The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a non-profit, Bangalore-based secular trust, evolved the free meal program
in schools in the year 2000. What started as a pilot project in five schools in Bangalore, feeding 1,500 children, has now grown into a mammoth Endeavour covering over 11,98,206 children in over 4,500 government, government aided schools and anganwadis (day care centers) in 18 locations spread across Eight states in India, day after day. This is amongst the largest school meal NGO run program in the world. The foundation expects to reach a magical figure of five million children by 2020.