Akshaya Patra uses Technology to Feed Millions

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is the world’s largest Mid-Day Meal Programme. The Foundation was borne out of a desire that children should not have to choose between hunger and education. Therefore from the vision that ‘No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger’ Akshaya Patra was started in the year 2000. Beginning with feeding just 1,500 children across 5 schools in Bengaluru, today the Foundation has grown to feed over 1.4 million children across 24 locations, and 10 states of India.

Akshaya Patra aims to end classroom hunger in India through mid-day meal programme. Leveraging technology to facilitate large scale cooking in a short amount of time, The Akshaya Patra Foundation has served as a case study to prestigious institutes for its operations model. Based on a successful Public-Private Partnership model with the Central and State Governments of India, corporates, donors and other stake holders, the Foundation has managed to scale up and sustain its operations over the past 15 years.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation also uses innovative technology to maintain absolute hygiene and efficiency in its practices. 22 of the 24 kitchens are centralised, and are highly mechanised. This reduces human contact with the food to a large extent, ensuring that the food remains safe and hygienic throughout the cooking process. At Akshaya Patra it is also understood that the food must be enjoyable too, therefore the organisation follows a North and South Indian menu to suit the local palate.

To end child hunger in India, the support from the society plays an important role. Support Us.

Akshaya Patra’s Message on World Food Day

As observed every year, the World Food Day will take place on 16 October. The vital objective is to make people aware about hunger challenges and encourage them to take action.

The theme this year is “Social protection and Agriculture”, defining the role social protection in reducing chronic food insecurity and poverty.  It aims to ensure direct access or the means to buy food.  It is also a practical alternative for stimulating agricultural production and local economy.

Many themes gained prominence each year but the entire focus is to find a way to eradicate hunger altogether. Because, it is a fundamental right to be free from hunger and the right to adequate food. The right to adequate food is realized when every man, woman and child has the access to adequate food or means for its procurement at all times.

Many NGOs and innovative companies are partaking in the attempt to counter hunger by taking responsibility of one of the various initiatives developed by the Government. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one such NGO that implements the Mid-Day Meal Scheme across 10 states benefiting over 1.4 million children every day. By providing mid-day meal, it aims to bridge the gap of inaccessibility to wholesome meal during the growing years of underserved children. As children have to attend to school to benefit from the mid-day meal, it also incentivises children to read and learn, thereby developing them into self-sustainable citizens of the nation.

Not just government or NGOs, it is the responsibility of each individual to ensure that children who are the future of the nation have access to nutritious food every day. You can start by supporting Akshaya Patra serve millions of children in schools every day.