Mid-Day Meals: A Path Towards Overall Growth

More than 2 million children in over 22,000 schools spread across 15 Indian states and 2 UTs eagerly await the delivery of their mid-day meals each school day. Many of them receive their first, and possibly the only, meal of the day from The Akshaya Patra Foundation. They attend school every day because of the promise of a hearty hot lunch. Akshaya Patra believes once they are there, the nutrients will aid in their ability to focus on their education and improved academic performance. 

According to the Limca Book of Records, Akshaya Patra is the largest non-governmental organisation (NGO) that implements the Government’s PM Poshan Abhiyaan (previously known as the Mid-Day Meal Programme or MDM Programme). 

“Our MDM programme is not just about providing food. It is about providing opportunities for children from economically challenged backgrounds to get a good education and thereby realize their true potential,” Madhu Pandit Dasa, chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation was quoted as saying in an interview to a business journal from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  

How MDM Supports Education Of Children 

Adequate nutrition, through the Mid-Day Meal Programme, ensures that a child receives a high-quality education and that the learning curve is upward and continuous. Children's hunger in the classroom is satisfied by a balanced diet, which also aids in their ability to concentrate on their studies and extracurricular activities. In addition to improving inter-caste socialisation, access to healthy food solves the problem of childhood malnutrition. By encouraging parents to send their children to school on a regular basis, a healthy mid-day meal also raises enrolment and retention rates in schools. 

Meals That Inspire Dreams 

Priya aspires to join the Indian army  

A student of Class VIII at Rawalwadi Relocation Site Primary School in Bhuj, Priya Maheshwari aspires to join the Indian army when she grows up. “I want to join the army and protect our country,” she says. 

“It is not just my childhood dream, but also the dream of my mother.” Priya wants to change the narrative that army posting at the border is only for men. She enthusiastically tells us, “I want to see more women at the border defending our country. I want to change people’s mindset that women can’t be at the border.” 

When asked about mid-day meals, she says, “Akshaya Patra food is delicious. It is full of different vegetables. We also get snacks in the form of sukhdi, peanuts, churma, etc. Among these, I love peanuts the most. We have a proper lunch here so we don’t have to eat at home again.”  

“Earlier we used to be very lean,” she tells us while using the little finger to denote the same and follows it up with, “now we are healthy,” with a thumbs up sign.  

From the ‘agriculture minister’ 

Biplab Murmu is the agriculture minister in the school cabinet. “We cultivate vegetables like pumpkin, beans, ridge gourd and cauliflower in our school premises,” he proudly tells us. A child with many talents, Biplab studies in class IV.  

He is also gifted in the field of dramatics, willing to perform at the drop of the hat. At home, the 11-year-old likes playing football—his favourite sport—with his friends. His mother works in a tea plantation while his father is a farmer. 

Biplab is particularly close to his father, Dipak Murmu, and even helps him in their field. He also tells his father about the day’s events, including what he ate for lunch at the school. “They are running a good initiative,” he says. “Whenever we ask children about their feedback on food, they appreciate it.”  

The pulao and dal served every Wednesday is Biplab’s favourite. “I like the food served on Wednesdays… It is tasty,” Biplab says as his eyes brighten. 

Biplab aspires to join the army when he grows up. “When I grow up, I want to join the army,” he confidently tells us. “I will catch bad people and punish them in order to keep the country safe.   

She wants to ‘go places’  

Yashaswi studies in the class IX at Karnataka Public School, Honnaganahatti. She is a class topper and aspires to travel the world one day. 

Yashaswi’s father is a farmer and her mother, a housewife. Both the parents understand the importance of education and food, particularly for a growing child. 

“Food is very delicious. My favourite dishes are Rasam and Puliogre. They give us in large quantity that is sufficient for everyone. It’s hot and delicious. It’s neither too spicy nor salty. It is the proper amount that we want for the correct taste. So, I think it’s very nice,” Yashaswi says. 

When you donate to Akshaya Patra you feed the children and ensure that ‘no child is deprived of education due to hunger’. This is one of the most efficient ways to give back to the society. In this way, you can encourage children from lower income groups to attend school on a regular basis while simultaneously supporting their overall development. 

By donating to Akshaya Patra, you qualify for 50% tax exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act. 

Together, we can meet the nutritional and educational requirements of every child in India.  

Invest in them to secure their future and avail tax benefits! 

Balanced Meals: Secret for child growth and development

 The nourishment we require as a human being in order to sustain our cells' life and feed them is known as nutrition. It fosters human growth and development, which is the expansion of all human beings' physical and psychological dimensions. Proper nutrition promotes healthy living and barricades infectious diseases, whereas poor nutrition exposes one to communicable diseases, health conditions, stunted growth and development, and some psychological difficulties.

Evidently, a proper nutrition is particularly important in children since it can affect their mental growth, which otherwise can damage their overall well-being. Just as every individual requires appropriate nutrition for general body growth, some people require it more than others due to their physical and psychological vulnerability. These people include pregnant women, lactating and nursing mothers, toddlers and growing children. Essential nutrition is needed at this critical time to facilitate standard progression of all-round development.

When children are not fed an adequate diet in both quantity and quality, they may suffer from illnesses that impact their growth, or in worst case scenarios, lead to mortality. In many countries, children suffer from malnutrition owing to poverty, which is one of the leading reasons for infant and child mortality.

Concept of Nutrition

Nutrition is concerned with the types of food we consume and their amount and quality. When the amount consumed is not proportionate, it results in inadequate nutrition, which is harmful to one's health.

Evidently, each food type has its own nutritional value, which performs a particular function in the body metabolism as well as the development, dependent on the amount of them combined correctly.

Classes of Food

Proper nutrition boosts the body's immunity to certain illnesses. When treated to a balanced diet, it aids in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. A balanced diet is one that includes foods from all dietary groups in appropriate proportions.

Importance of Child Development

The age of early childhood development is recognised as the most essential phase of life. This is critical because children require complete support from their family in order to realise their full potential. The child's brain builds complex neural networks at an unparalleled rate during the first three years following birth, resulting in fast mental growth and development. The brain has grown to 90% of adult size by the age of six.

Early childhood development has a direct impact on a child's long-term health outcomes, as well as future possibilities, school attainment, and even earning potential.

How to Support Healthy Child Development

Without a question, school plays an important role in the socio-economic development of society. It is a place where children of different backgrounds come together to form a culture of unity and fraternity. Their school education prepares them to achieve their goals and be successful in life.

However, the children in government schools, come from low-income families. Some students are forced to earn over pursuing their education due to financial concerns. This is where the true significance of a midday meal becomes apparent. The mid-day meal, under the Government’s PM Poshan Abhiyaan, is designed to entice parents to send their children to school. They can ensure that their children receive at least one healthy meal every day.

Akshaya Patra’s Role in Child Development

Akshaya Patra has always strived to ensure that children have sustained access to food and nutrition through initiatives such as the PMPoshan Abhiyaan (previously known as MDM Scheme) and Anganwadi feeding programme.

The Foundation has always endeavoured to uphold children’s Right to Food and Right to Education by serving them freshly cooked, nutritious and hygienic mid-day meals every school day. Over 2 million children benefit from the school lunch every day. If hunger is a barrier to education and consequently, a better life, the mid-day meal represents hope.

Over the years, the assurance of a meal has prompted many people to send their children to school to get an education instead of sending them to work to support the family. The mid-day meal has played a crucial role in bringing millions of children to the classroom, thus giving them a chance to break the vicious cycle of poverty. It has helped promote socialisation and gender equality.

The assurance of a meal doesn’t just bring children to school but also contributes to their health and wellbeing by taking care of their nutritional requirements. In the NGO’s capacity as the implementing partner of the MDM Programme, it has always strived to provide children a diversified and nutrient-rich staple to enhance their nutritional and health status.

Over the years, the transformation the mid-day meal or MDM programme has brought about in the lives of many children, their families and the community as a whole has been a testimony of the programme’s benefits.

Now you can also feed the needy and help further these initiatives and provide employment nutritious meals by contributing online to Akshaya Patra’s cause.

When you contribute to Akshaya Patra, you also become eligible to gain tax exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act as the Foundation is registered under Section 12A of the Act.

All online donations over ₹500 to Akshaya Patra are eligible for a 50% tax deduction and donors will receive a tax exemption donation certificate as proof to claim 80G deductions. Donate now!

Give nutritious meals to homeless mothers

 

Know more: https://www.akshayapatra.org/feed-the-homeless-mothers 

Celebrate Republic day with Akshaya Patra

 

This Republic Day, let us unite our visions today and nourish and educate young minds with Akshaya Patra for the country’s better tomorrow.

Know more: https://www.akshayapatra.org/pledge-to-support 

Nutrition and Education: The key to empowerment of girls

 "We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back. We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave, to embrace the strength within themselves and realise their full potential.”

- Malala Yousafzai

Despite the fact that children worldwide still have to deal with hardships in the twenty-first century, girls in particular experience different forms of discrimination, exploitation and oppression because of their gender, they break all odds. 

According to numerous studies conducted by non-governmental organisations, national reports and figures from the UN, girls on the whole have lower literacy rates, receive less health care and are more frequently poor than males. These circumstances typically persist as girls develop into women.

The world's girls are disproportionately affected by gender discrimination, which begins in childhood and continues to deprive them of their childhoods and limit their opportunities. A girl is much more likely to be denied her rights, prevented from attending school and subjected to different forms of coercions.

Every boy and girl should have an equal chance to live and prosper. The Akshaya Patra Foundation – one of India’s largest Mid-Day Meal NGOs, has long been regarded as the champion of gender neutrality and has been serving both male female children since 22 years.   

The Mid-Day Meal Programme (currently known as PM Poshan Abhiyaan), Digital Education Programme and AVSAR Scholarship Programme has been working for years to provide quality nutrition and education to children from underprivileged communities, in order to prepare them to become the leaders and changemakers of the future. 

We believe that food and education are key instruments that girls must use to reach their full potential by developing the skills and attitudes that put them on the road to social and economic empowerment.

More Power To Them!

Pallavi is a beneficiary of the Digital Education Programme.

Not much attention is being given to health due to insufficient doctors. The doctor to patient ratio is sympathetic as at the moment it stands at 1: 1000 a day. This results in a high mortality rate among children and the aged. I want to make a difference in the field of health care. Now that I have the tab, I can start preparing for entrance examinations,” she says.

Premalatha is a beneficiary of the AVSAR Scholarship Programme.

Premalatha thanks The Foundation for the AVSAR Scholarship that helped her succeed. She says she is independent today because of The Foundation’s support.​  

Over the years, Akshaya Patra has been providing nutrition and educational opportunity to girls from challenging socio-economic communities of India.

When you donate towards the cause of the organisation, you also qualify for a 50% tax exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act as Akshaya Patra is registered under Section 12 A of the IT Act.

This National Girl Child Day, take a vow to stop gender discrimination.

Donate now and save tax!

 

Akshaya Patra Achievements Recap 2022

 

The Akshaya Patra Foundation wrapped up another year of nourishing millions of people from challenging backgrounds with support from its generous donors.

Know more: https://www.akshayapatra.org/ 

Contribute online to the nation’s progress this Republic Day

 Indian Republic Day, celebrated on 26th January every year, is a moment of pride for all Indians. On this day in the year 1950, the Constitution of India came into effect, and our nation was declared a republic. This day reflects the Preamble, which states ‘equality’ as one of its objectives, along with justice, liberty and fraternity.

This special occasion every year reiterates the inclusive progress of all Indians, the fundamental rights of a citizen and everyone’s responsibility to uphold these values for our nation's progress.

Certainly, we have come a long way in 73 years. Because of our innumerable achievements, India is now considered one of the most influential countries in the world. Additionally, to further the motives of democracy, we also follow a system of equal rights and opportunities for everyone without discrimination against any section of our society.

The role NGOs in India play

To reach remote corners and improve the living conditions of ‘less provided for’ sections of our population, the Indian Government and the NGOs have been at work for seven decades.

One such Government-backed non-profit entity is our 22-year-old NGO, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, which has been nourishing children who have little to no access to nutritious meals.

Over the years, we have also been able to support homeless mothers, nursing mothers, pregnant women and disaster victims because of undying support from our donors. Yet, our prime focus remains the Mid-Day Meal Programme (now known as PM Poshan Abhiyaan) that continues to impact the lives of Government school children every single day.

• It boosts academic learning and performance in co-curricular activities such as sports, supporting their holistic development.
• It motivates children’s parents to send them to school regularly, as they are confident that their children will receive the right nutrition every day.
• It improves regularity in attendance and reduces the drop-out rate.
• It builds confidence, compassion and knowledge in children when they socialise with those from different communities while having mid-day meals.
• It eliminates deficiencies in children and empowers women through employment. 

We are currently feeding 20,10,516 (2 million) children in 22,367 Government and Government-aided schools every day and have served 24 crore meals so far! We make all our meals in 65 kitchens, following international standards of hygiene and quality, in 14 states and 2 union territories across India.

Support high-quality food for children this Republic Day

Every child is a repository of talents, skills, dedication and aspirations. They are the future decision-makers of India. They only need enough opportunities and high-quality nourishment, daily, to reach their highest potential.

So, let’s continue to ensure that every child is at school so that they grow up into empowered citizens of the country. You can impact their lives by donating to charity, starting a fundraiser or becoming a CSR partner.

Support Akshaya Patra for India’s bright future this Republic Day.

Donate and save tax!