Food and Education: A Solution for India

According to the famous theory ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ food is one of the most fundamental needs—if hunger is not solved, it becomes impossible for humans to reach higher standards of needs like education. This theory asks us a simple question: Will a child be able to sit in a classroom with an empty stomach?

In an attempt to relieve children from classroom hunger, The Akshaya Patra Foundation began providing mid-day meals to government school children in India to ensure they receive both nutrition as well as education. The role of NGOs in India is increasing every day to reduce the nation’s socio-economic issues—lack of education being one of them. The Foundation believes that food for education will contribute to achieving economic stability in the long-run and will also improve every section of the society. 15 years ago, Akshaya Patra began serving mid-day meals to only 1500 school children. Today, it has progressed to more than 1.5 million children across 10 states in India making it the world’s largest (non-for-profit) run Mid-Day Meal Programme in India.

There are two ways many children in India are benefitting from Akshaya Patra’s mid-day meals—a wholesome meal every day to be on the healthier side and uninterrupted education despite the financial hurdles at home. Akshaya Patra has been working along with the Government of India and State Governments to reduce the number of children exposed to severe hunger. The combined and continuous efforts with the government have resulted in tremendous opportunities for children to attend school; for it is education that projects a secure future.

For India as a developing nation, feeding the future is a mission. The Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2008 states that more than 200 million people in India go hungry every day making food sufficiency an urgent priority. Despite economic progress over the decade, the report still highlights the severe hunger situation in India.

India has many challenges to fight. Solutions are many. However, if the country continues to focus on two aspects – food and education, the results can be what Planning Commission of India has envisioned for 2020—achieving 100 per cent school enrolment of all children.

It is also The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s mission to target 5 million children everyday by 2020 and ensuring that these children are able to concentrate better in classrooms. You can get involve by joining Akshaya Patra in raising awareness about the programme as well as contributing to the cause. All it takes is Rs. 750 to feed a school going child and you can help us too.

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You can download Akshaya Patra Mobile App to support the foundation cause. Download the app on Android and iOS store.

Fascinating World of Akshaya Patra's Mega Kitchens

This photo blog is a visual inspiration for all those who are intrigued and fascinated by our colossal kitchens. This blog will give you an intimate look into an Akshaya Patra kitchen, with photographs of how exactly we accomplish feeding 1.5 million children daily!

22 kitchens

Starts cooking at 3 am

Mid-day meal will be ready by 9 am

To know more about the kitchens, visit: Akshaya Patra's Mega Kitchens

The Dream Diaries of Akshaya Patra’s Beneficiaries

Giving Every Dream a Chance – Shekar, The Budding Chef

“When you are sad or feeling low, good food will always make you feel better.”

When children dream, it is limitless. For Shekar, the dream of becoming a chef and working in the kitchen of a high-end hotel is an excitement feeling in itself. Akshaya Patra’s initiative turned the 14-year-old boy’s dream into an opportunity by charting a month-long mentorship programme, where he developed his skills under the watchful eyes of Chef Ramasamy Selvaraju of the Vivanta by Taj. For a recipe to be successful, it’s important that all ingredients are carefully added and blend well.  In this short film, you will see that the two most important ingredients for Shekar, opportunity and hard work blended exceptionally well.

Giving Every Dream a Chance – Shivu, The Rising Astronomer

“Space must be such a lonely place… with just the stars for company.”

Stars are among the few fascinating things that make our eyes twinkle with curiosity. For Shivu, whose passion is to become an astronomer, it is no different. Akshaya Patra laid the runway for his dream by providing a mentorship programme under the guidance of Ms Preeti Krishnamurthy, Senior Research Fellow in Astrophysics. During his mentorship, 14-year-old boy Shivu got an opportunity to have a closer look at the sky. His one-on-one sessions with his mentor were as enlightening as his trips to some of the best space and research facilities in and around Bengaluru. When mentorship came to a close, Shivu had his own telescope which definitely lifted his morale. Shivu’s journey, as you can see in this video, was nothing short of impressive. It is perhaps true that the universe itself lies in us.

Giving Every Dream a Chance – Manjula, The Aspiring Actress

“… when you become an actor, you can become anything you want.”

When you look into the mirror and see the reflection of a performer, it’s not the reflection you see, but a dream. That is the dream Manjula saw who is one of Akshaya Patra’s beneficiaries. A star in her own right, what the 14-year-old girl needed was a guide to polish her natural acting skills. That happened when Akshaya Patra decided to elevate Manjula’s dream by enrolling her in a month-long acting mentorship programme at the Bangalore School of Speech and Drama under the guidance of its Founder-Director, Dr. Zulfia Shaikh. Manjula was also surprised by her screen idol, Akul Balaji, who had come to watch her debut performance.

Challenges in Implementing the Mid-Day Meal Programme

To retain a hungry child in the classroom is a major problem faced by the teachers and parents in government schools. A hungry student cannot learn or understand what is being taught in the class. Hunger causes impaired mental growth, physical growth and even reduces the attention and concentration of children.

Poverty and malnutrition among students, hailing from low income families have become a major concern in India.  As a result, the Mid-Day Meal Programme was launched to universalise primary education, increase enrolment rates, reduce dropout rates as well as improve the nutritional status of students in primary classes.

Akshaya Patra implements the mid-day meal programme in partnership with the Union Government and State Governments. The organisation reaches out to 1.5 million children a day and is the largest school lunch programme in the world.

Let us see some of the challenges Akshaya Patra has to face in implementing the mid-day meal scheme.

• Providing the right quantity of food to each and every student with the right amount of nutrients, vitamins and minerals so that beneficiaries are not devoid of any essential nutrient.
• Reaching out to places where road connectivity is not smooth especially in rural areas. 
• Employing enough man power, so that meals can be prepared in vast quantities.   
• Having variety in the menu. Children would savour the meals only if different varieties of curry are served each day with rice and roti.

In spite of all the challenges, Akshaya Patra reaches out to its 1.5 million children with all efficiency and competency. Not even a single day the organisation has missed to deliver a meal as the organisation understands that this could be the only meal for many of its beneficiaries.

Hunger is really a challenge but to retain a hungry child in the classroom is more challenging. Hunger is an obstacle that hinders the child’s learning process.

Child hunger is a social issue that together we can solve. So let us donate to Akshaya Patra. It takes just Rs. 750 to feed a child for a year! Every donation of Rs. 500 or above made to Akshaya Patra is eligible for 100% tax exemption under section 35 AC or 50% tax exemption under Section 80 G of the Indian Income Tax. 

Let us donate to Akshaya Patra and help serve children to end class room hunger.