Gift a child nutrition this Christmas

Christmas is around the corner and people are gearing up to celebrate the season of giving. Gifts are being bought, wrapped and placed under the tree, and preparations for delicious family meals are underway. The essence of the holiday season is generosity and camaraderie.

However there are millions of children across India who would love to celebrate a merry Christmas. Irrespective of state, gender, religion or age, children especially love festival seasons because of the happiness and excitement they see around them. How unfortunate that so many can only enjoy the festivities from afar.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation wants to make this Christmas season special for those children who don’t have access to even the basic requirements of proper nutrition. They are underserved, and still stay positive and excited taking in the festivities around them.

Akshaya Patra is reaching out to each of its well-wishers asking them to include the underserved, yet innocent, children into their holiday celebrations this year. For every gift you buy a loved one, think of those children whose parents have no money to spend on presents, and make a donation that can help change their lives.

Celebrate the spirit of Christmas by giving generously to those in need. If you would like to, make a Christmas donation , click to Donate Online

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Two Akshaya Patra kitchens win CII National Food Safety Awards 2014

Akshaya Patra was recently awarded the prestigious CII National Food Safety Award 2014, for both the Vasanthapura as well as the Hubli kitchen! The Vasanthapura kitchen received the highest level of awards for ‘Outstanding Performance in Food Safety’, while the Hubli kitchen was conferred the second highest award of ‘Certificate of Commendation for Significant Achievement in Food Safety.’

The award brings into focus those considered the ‘Best in Class’ in the manufacturing and food service business sector. It provides a means for organisations to gauge their position in the industry as well as provides a platform to gain national recognition.

Speaking on the occasion of receiving the awards, Muralidhar Pundla, Director-Quality at Akshaya Patra said. “Quality is of paramount importance at Akshaya Patra. It's an honour to receive this prestigious award from CII and that too, two awards in a single year. We at Akshaya Patra at the same time would like to keep our focus on Continual Improvement Programs to further strengthen our systems and processes to make sure that we can serve more children meals that they can relish every day.”

The award was given to Akshaya Patra by K. Chandramouli, Chairman, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India; Mayank Jalan, Co-Chairman, Food Processing Committee and Chairman and Managing Director, Keventer Agro Limited and Kevin D. Gallagher, FAO India representative. Receiving the award for Akshaya Patra were Yagneshwara Dasa, Muralidhar Pundla, Suresh Kumar, Arun Kumar and Prashanth MB.

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The long walk to success

How many of us would be inclined to walk 20 kilometres a day for education? For Krishna Das, it’s well worth the trouble. Studying in Standard IX in the Sualkuchi Kali Ram Karikar Girls High School in Assam, Krishna lives in a remote village where road connectivity is bad, forcing her to walk to school.

“There are no motorable roads and hence no vehicles can reach the village. The situation has been the same, as far as I can remember," she says. Sometimes the rain makes the situation even worse.  “The paths become slushy because of which we cannot even come to school and many others can’t go out for work."

Although her parents are weavers, Krishna never wanted to take up the trade. “I never wanted to learn weaving even though it is beautiful. I want to get a good job which promises a regular income, after I finish my studies, “she says. Her parents have always encouraged both Krishna and her brother (Standard XII) to study.

Krishna is a beneficiary of Akshaya Patra’s mid-day meal at her school. Because of the tasty, filling food Krishna has the stamina and the drive to walk the 20 kilometres to school and back. The food keeps her feeling satisfied till she gets home and dinner is served in an hour or two.

Thinking to the future Krishna says, "I want Chandrapur to be connected by roads, have facilities like government schools and hospitals. At this point it may appear to be a wishful thinking, but I hope it will soon come true." We think that with determination like hers, she can make any of her dreams come true.

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Feed by Like – Akshaya Patra’s latest social media campaign

Can you make a difference in a child’s life through your Facebook profile? Yes.  Through ‘Feed by Like’ campaign launched on 11th November, marking the birthdate of the Foundation, Akshaya Patra is urging social media users to Like their Facebook page. In response to each Like, a sponsor will donate one meal to The Akshaya Patra Foundation, helping to improve the lives of children in India.

Support food for education on World Hunger Day 2014

Food security is a problem that plagues people in every country, in every corner of the world. In fact, food security is such a crippling issue that the Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO) estimates that there are 805 million people who are hungry across the world.

With hunger and malnutrition being such crucial problems of the world today, World Food Day was conceptualised in 1945 by the United Nations, to also mark the day that the Food and Agriculture Organisation was founded. Celebrated on 16 October all over the world this day aims to bring about an understanding of the circumstances and problems connected with hunger and poverty.

For World Food Day 2014 the theme chosen is Family Farming: “Feeding the world, caring for the earth”. This theme has been adopted to raise awareness of the role that family farming plays in putting an end to global hunger and malnutrition. However, because of problems like poor raw material, bad policies and inadequate storage facilities, many farmers go hungry themselves.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation involved in the cause of providing food for education to underprivileged children in India, understands how crucial supporting family farming can be. Although there may not be a correlation between the cause of Akshaya Patra and family farming at first hand, the two are actually closely connected.

Children are forced to help their parents in the fields, tilling the soil and struggling to get by, at the cost of their education. By supporting and highlighting the importance of family farming, this occupation will get a boost, and children get an education.

Celebrate World Food Day 2014 and help end classroom hunger by making online donation to NGO.

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Donate to Akshaya Patra for Joy of Giving 2014

 The Joy of Giving Week (Daan Utsav) is marked by great efforts in generosity to bridge the gaps of social inequality. It is in pursuit of this goal that many donors partner with NGOs all over India like The Akshaya Patra Foundation to help alleviate suffering and provide opportunities to the under privileged sections of society. However with so many options to donate during Joy of Giving Week, making a choice as to which organisation and cause to support can become a little overwhelming.

Zydus Wellness joins hands with Akshaya Patra

Zydus Wellness Ltd. has joined forces with The Akshaya Patra Foundation for their new campaign 'Donate Your Calories to Help Nourish Children', run through their substitute brand, Sugar Free.

Sugar Free acts as an alternative to sugar for health conscious people who are concerned about their calories. This campaign takes these ‘unwanted calories’ that are saved by consuming Sugar Free and converts them to ‘useful calories’ through a monetary contribution to Akshaya Patra.

This campaign was devised keeping in mind the huge chasm between people who struggle with excess weight, as against the millions of under nourished people in India. The money donated to Akshaya Patra through the campaign will be used to bridge this gap by providing more children with the tasty, nutritious mid-day meal on every school day.

The campaign was kick started in Mumbai all over the country in the presence of celebrities like Akshay Kumar (Bollywood actor), Sanjeev Kapoor (Master Chef), Tisca Chopra (actress), along with Ganesh Nayak (ED and COO, Zydus Cadila) and Elkana Ezekiel (MD, Zydus Wellness Ltd).

Describing why the campaign is crucial, ED and COO Ganesh Nayak said, “While a large proportion of India had excess calorie consumption leading to a state of weight gain, an even larger proportion did not have a nutritious meal every day. There was thus a state of calorie imbalance. In partnership with Akshaya Patra, we designed this campaign around Sugar Free to create a calorie balance by donating the calories saved by Sugar Free consumers to undernourished children, through the mid- day meal program which targets school children."

Zydus Wellness made a token contribution of 5 million calories towards The Akshaya Patra Foundation at the launch of the campaign, to be monetised later.

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Feed the hungry – Fighting malnutrition in India

 

Today malnutrition is an epidemic that affects people in every corner of the world. Predominantly found in third world countries, malnutrition prevents nations struggling to evolve from making progress. India is one of the developing countries that struggle greatly with the issue of malnutrition amongst its population, especially amongst the children.

There are 400 million children residing in India, and of this staggering figure every second child is malnourished.

Malnutrition in children primarily occurs as result of poverty and illiteracy.  Parents who have never had the opportunity to attend school find it difficult to maintain regular, reliable jobs to keep their family financially secure. Without access to enough money to even provide for the family’s basic nutritional needs, children grow up malnourished themselves. They in turn have to take up child labour to support the family at the cost of their education, and the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and malnutrition continues.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation works to combat malnutrition and illiteracy in children through their mid-day meal programme. By providing children with nutritious, tasty food in sufficient quantities, Akshaya Patra has succeeded in bringing children back to school, and improving their health in one move.

Studies of the Akshaya Patra mid-day meal have shown that by regular access to the healthy meals children have shown better concentration and academic progress, increased school enrollment and attendance, better nutrition status and reduced school drop-out rates.

It is important for every able person to lend their time, attention and resources to stop this cycle of poverty and malnutrition plaguing the innocent children of India. To help The Akshaya Patra Foundation provide food for education and eliminate classroom hunger, click to donate online.

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Support Akshaya Patra at the Mastek Cause-A-Thon 2014!

 What’s better than running for exercise? Running for a cause! Show your support for The Akshaya Patra Foundation at the Mastek Cause-A-Thon 2014 scheduled to be held in Kharghar, Mumbai on 28th  September. Come cheer the participants as they run for the cause of alleviating poverty.

Mastek Foundation which organises the annual marathon has this year partnered with The Akshaya Patra Foundation to help spread awareness of the work Akshaya Patra does, and work towards providing food and education to the children in need.

All the proceeds collected through the sale of tickets and sponsorship by the Mastek Cause-A-Thon will be donated to The Akshaya Patra Foundation and used to implement the organisation’s projects. These will be eligible for the tax saving 80G certificate.

Mastek Foundation has always been actively involved in creating awareness campaigns targeted at improving welfare in community life. They have frequently partnered with non profit organisations like The Akshaya Patra Foundation to bring greater knowledge, following and publicity to the work being undertaken.

The Mastek Cause-A-Thon will be held at the following details:

Central Park – Kharghar, Mumbai

28 September, 2014

Time: 7.00 a.m. onward

In case of any inquiries, email:

Vijay Sapaliga - vijay.sapaliga@mastek.com | +91-9773768435

Jashosree Sen - jashosree.sen@mastek.com | +91-93930892592

Write in at: mastekfoundation@mastek.com

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an Indian non-profit organisation that runs the world’s largest school feeding programme. Reaching out to over 1.4 million children a day, across 10,661 government schools in 23 locations and 10 states of India, Akshaya Patra is on a mission to feed 5 million children by 2020. To contribute to this cause, click to Donate Online

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‘What can you get for Rs. 750?’ – Akshaya Patra’s latest film

 

Rs. 750 doesn’t seem like a lot does it? But it can be surprising just what this seemingly small amount of money can achieve. It can pay for groceries, a nice meal out, an afternoon at the spa… and food for one child for an entire academic year.

 The latest viral video ‘What can you get for Rs. 750?’ released by The Akshaya Patra Foundation captures people’s ideas of what they think they could do with Rs. 750. While the ideas varied, a predominant thought that the film captures is that most people don’t believe that Rs. 750 is a very significant amount of money, capable of making any difference to anyone’s life.

That’s when Akshaya Patra introduces the concept that while Rs. 750 may be a trivial amount to the average semi-affluent Indian family, the Foundation uses each donation of this amount to feed one child for an entire academic year. This small amount is sufficient to provide a child with nutrition he/she needs for the year and keep the child enrolled in school, and optimistic about his/her future.

To many of us today this amount of money doesn’t mean much, but to some child it’s their ticket out of poverty. Help a child who is #HungryForSchool by sponsoring their education every year, till college. With your contributions, Akshaya Patra can help end classroom hunger.

Watch the video, and share it with your friends to spread news of Akshaya Patra’s cause, and its mission to feed 5 million children by 2020. Click here to watch the video.

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Why CSR with Akshaya Patra?

 

Companies today have started to realise the long term importance of adopting a cohesive corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. To underline this, section 135 of The Companies Act, 2013 has made it mandatory that ‘every company with a net worth of INR 500 crores or more, and a turnover of INR 1000 crores or more, or a net profit of INR five crores or more’, must spend a minimum of two per cent of their net profits of the last three years on CSR.

Striving for Excellence

 

Let’s delve into the lives of one of our employees from The Akshaya Patra Foundation! Saudamini Sahoo from our decentralised kitchen at Nayagarh, Odisha, joined the organisation in 2013. She heard about the work the Foundation does in 2007, and had her heart set on joining Akshaya Patra in providing food for education to the underprivileged school children in her locality.

Howzat for healthy!

Jaga Pradhan currently studies in the fifth standard at the Vijayanagar Project Primary School in Puri. An energetic, vibrant young boy, Jaga enjoys coming to school to study Science and Literature above all his other subjects. His older brother works as a daily wage earner, while his mother is a construction worker. Both Jaga and his younger brother attend the same school and are beneficiaries of The Akshaya Patra mid-day meal.

On her way to a PhD!

We’ve always known that The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s mid-day meal programme has the power to transform lives, and here’s the proof. Saraswati, a beneficiary of the programme throughout high school recently walked into the Akshaya Patra office to have a chat with us on the direction her life has taken, since school.

India’s children are #HungryForSchool

Child Labour in India has been a reality that we have all lived with, in the nation. From which ever strata of society to which we belong, we either directly or indirectly know of someone whose child does not have access to education because he/she is employed and contributing to running the household.

Akshaya Patra wins the Communicator Award!

The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been awarded the 20th Annual Communicator Award of Distinction for overall design in the print category by The Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA). This is one of the most competitive and biggest award programmes held to recognize creative excellence for communications professionals, as can be seen from the over 6000 entries received.

Spread some hope and joy

The Wall of Hope and Joy is round the corner and the adrenalin is high at The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Bringing back the much enjoyed photography exhibition for the second time, the folks at the Foundation are looking forward to an even bigger turn out to this event than last time.

The mid-day meal programme – Food for the soul

We always think of the happy, shining faces of young children as they eat their fill of the mid-day meal provided by The Akshaya Patra Foundation. But very rarely do we think of the joy and satisfaction it brings to the people involved in this venture. Not just the staff and employees of The Akshaya Patra Foundation, but the other irreplaceable individuals that help this process work. From teachers, physicians and volunteers, these kind souls have seen frail children transform into healthy children before their eyes, filled with hope and renewed vigor, a sight they cannot help but be moved by.

Introducing ‘Thali For All’

The Akshaya Patra Foundation decided to step up its game with the introduction of a fun application, ‘Thali For All.’ Launched on February 13, 2014 the game is designed to sensitize players to the cause of Akshaya Patra (What cause), how the kitchens operate and the utmost importance given to food quality and safety, all in a way that’s fun and entertaining.

Saluting India’s Women this Women’s Day

Women’s empowerment has always been a cause that The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been conscious of. Though women’s empowerment is not directly associated with the cause of providing Food for Education, Akshaya Patra has always in its own way, worked toward the empowerment of the women in society.

A life beyond Hunger

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” – Virginia Woolf

A sentiment we all understand from our own personal experiences with hunger. For most of us, hunger is a fleeting sensation, easily satisfied in a quick transaction. But for many in India, around 269.3 million to be more precise, hunger is a way of life.

Thinking Out of The Book

Going to school is about more than just becoming book smart. It’s about making friends, interaction, gaining confidence, learning sportsmanship, etiquette, empathy, discovering hidden talents and so much more.

It is how children are groomed today to become respectable citizens of society tomorrow.

In India where many children come from economically backward families, school is not very high on the list of priorities. Parents much rather that children help them earn their daily wages, or stay at home to look after their siblings while both parents work.

The Social Media strategy for multiple marketing tasks

As simplistic and carefree as the world of social media may seem, it is crucial to have a solid social media strategy in place to show concrete results. At The Akshaya Patra Foundation, the social media strategy focuses on the cause of ‘Food for Education’ and its execution is reevaluated every quarter.

Akshaya Patra, a pan India presence and going strong

We’ve reached the end of 2013 and The Akshaya Patra Foundation is proud to say that we have a presence in 20 locations across nine states, with the most recent kitchen in Surat being opened.