One of the pioneer non-profit organisation in the mid-day meal sector, The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been in the service of providing freshly cooked nutritious meals to school children for the past 18 years. Beginning with just 1,500 children as beneficiaries in the year 2000, the Foundation has grown to provide sumptuous meals to 17,62,133 children studying in 14,702 Government schools and Government-aided schools across 40 locations of 12 states.
This Indian NGO at a very early stage comprehended the interdependency of food and education; hence ensuring expansion of its operations and reach in a sustainable manner. It has set itself the goal to feed 5 million children by 2020 and is steadily striding towards it. Here is a quick overview of its progress in 2018:
• Akshaya Patra added 7 new kitchens in 2018;
• It started feeding 90,607 more children;
• It took steps to make meals more nutritious by partnering with the Government of Karnataka and ICRISAT to introduce millets in school lunch; partnering with Path India Country Program (PATH) to extend ‘Feeding through Fortified Rice’ programme; and signed an MoU with GAIN, Bangladesh to extend the scope of fortification to oil and milk.
Aside from the above, this non-profit organisation started four new ‘Beyond the Meal’ initiatives to provide holistic development of children:
Giving Every Dream a Chance
Initiated in 2016, this programme focusses on identifying hidden talents and interests among beneficiary children and providing them with mentorship in association with academies and professionals. So far, more than 300 children have been benefitted.
Anganwadi Feeding Programme
This initiative aims to provide wholesome meals in Anganwadi centres to support healthy growth of children, along with supporting nutritional requirement of pregnant women and lactating mothers. So far, 1,61,410 children between the ages of 3-6 years and 6,410 women are being benefitted.
Scholarship Programme
To support higher studies, we have created a platform wherein they can receive scholarship to fulfil their desire. So far, 338 ex-Akshaya Patra beneficiaries have been benefitted under Alumni Scholarship and 120 Akshaya Patra beneficiaries of Standard IX and X have been benefitted under Akshaya Patra Beneficiary Scholarship.
Model Schools
We have taken this initiative to create replicable model of excellence by encompassing infrastructural reforms and community engagement to improve schooling experience. Recently, the first model was inaugurated in Bengaluru and we aim to scale this up to benefit 1 lakh children in the upcoming years.
Join in the efforts of Akshaya Patra and add health and hope among young children. Feed the children, educate them, and pave a path towards progress for the children and the nation. Donate today!