Akshaya Patra steers closer to its vision; hits a new milestone

 

Akshaya Patra now delivers 2 MILLION smiles DAILY!

The esteemed 21-year-old NGO in India achieved its new feeding landmark in September, nourishing 2 million children daily! It includes children receiving food under the Midday Meal Scheme (MDM) and the Anganwadi Feeding Programme that nourishes nursing mothers along with their infants.

In the past, Akshaya Patra has been instrumental in bringing policy reforms around the Midday Meal Scheme (MDM) (now the PM Poshan Abhiyaan) and improving the nutritional value for its beneficiaries. Studies suggest that regular mid-day meal consumption reduced the chances of children being underweight and obese. It enhanced their chances of being in the average weight and overweight category along with being from short to normal in height. They also became healthier and less susceptible to anaemia, fever, diarrhoea and cough.

But with the pandemic making matters worse for underprivileged families in India, there was an immediate need to uplift them socioeconomically and bring their children back to school. Therefore, the organisation launched new initiatives in the year 2022 to reach, nourish and support more marginalised people across the country.

 Akshaya Patra’s reach with new initiatives

 

1)      Inauguration of 4 new kitchens

Akshaya Patra inaugurated four new kitchens in the first few months of 2022:

·         62^nd kitchen in Varanasi, Gujarat: feeds over 100,000 children in 282 schools

·         63^rd kitchen in Dehradun, Uttarakhand: feeds over 11,900 children in 132 schools

·         64^th kitchen in Mansa, Gujarat: feeds over 26,000 children in 190 schools

·         65^th kitchen in Jorhat, Assam: feeds over 10,070 children in 156 schools

Contributions from generous donors like The Hans Foundation and the IndusInd Bank made these kitchen constructions possible. Many delegates, including Shri Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India and Shri Amit Shah, the Home Minister of India, attended the inaugurations and pledged their support for the NGO’s endeavours.

 

2)      Breakfast Feeding Programme

A review of studies around providing free school breakfast proved that it ensures adequate nutrition and energy in children to attend daily classes with improved concentration and interest. They come to school regularly, cultivate good behaviour and show improved academic performance. It also reduces expenditure in lower-income households, giving them the incentive to send their children to schools. Also, students who skip breakfast show increased errors and have slower memory recall. 

Therefore, a well-designed, hygienic and nutritious diet would help children—and the Indian population in the long run—to recover from widespread undernourishment. Keeping this in mind, Akshaya Patra started serving breakfast in addition to mid-day meals in Government schools.

 

3)      Millets in mid-day meals of Government school children

To improve nutrition for children as part of the PM Poshan Abhiyaan, Akshaya Patra signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nutrihub, the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) and the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) in August. It aims to introduce millets in the meals for Government school children in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and eventually, across the country.

Millets are proven to have five times higher nutritional content when compared with rice and wheat. They will digest well, strengthen the nervous system, reduce cholesterol, prevent heart disease, protect against diabetes, lower cancer risks, increase energy levels and nourish the muscular system in millions of underprivileged children in India, thus boosting their physical and mental health.

These small-grained cereal crops are also rich in complex carbohydrates, dietary fibre, medicinal properties, iron, zinc, calcium, niacin, B6, folic acid, potassium, phosphorous and magnesium, which are essential to curb the problem of malnutrition in India.

Furthermore, millets are native to India. They can be grown in low fertile soils with low inputs of fertilisers and pesticides, adding to the nation’s sustainable food-growing practices.

4)      Sustainable food production methods

The programmes run by Akshaya Patra directly impact the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7, which are also the priority of the Indian Government.

Its kitchens are known worldwide for following advanced manufacturing practices and international standards of hygiene and quality, thus ensuring that the most nutritious meals reach the beneficiaries.

Now, with the new state-of-the-art kitchens, the NGO in India proves its constant efforts to integrate sustainability into its food production processes. They use solar panels for electricity generation with a heat pump and solar water heater to boil water.

Towards a sustainable future of India 

The new model of the PM Poshan Abhiyaan will also allow the children to grow their own food and kitchens will source raw materials locally, thus making the mid-day meal ecosystem more self-reliant, organic and sustainable. With regular checks on each child’s nutrition levels by experts, children will recover from learning and nutrient loss more quickly. But all this is possible only with consistent support from donors! 

When ₹2500 can support a child with breakfast, lunch and education for an academic year, why can each one of us not donate the minimum we can?

So, let’s end the wait and endless discussion on problems. Let’s bring health, education and opportunities to millions of underprivileged children with a few clicks online!

Our online donations can shape India’s future. Let’s contribute.

4 ways your donation to Akshaya Patra can help underprivileged children

 

Akshaya Patra reaches a new milestone; nourishes 2 MILLION dreams daily!

The world recognises India as a country of great economic and cultural importance. In recent years, there has also been a growing consensus that our country will be pivotal in driving global growth. 

As our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi said “when India grows, the world grows; when India reforms, the world transforms.”

Today, we are also one of the leading nations to adopt massive sustainable development practices such as minimising carbon footprint and uplifting millions of our citizens from the grips of insufficiency and vulnerability.

When the whole world has placed its trust in our nation, it’s time we at Akshaya Patra—an esteemed NGO in India—pulled up our sleeves to support Government endeavours and nurture the dreams of our underprivileged but talented citizens.

And so we did!

Now Akshaya Patra reaches 65 locations, nourishing over 2 million (20,10,516) children in 22,367 schools across India every day of the year. 

It includes feeding children under the Anganwadi Programme and the PM Poshan Abhiyaan (formerly known as the Midday Meal Scheme [mdm]).

There’s more to celebrate!

The year 2022 has been special with the inauguration of our new kitchens and hitting the new feeding milestone with online donations from our compassionate supporters.

“Feeding 3 million children by 2025” will be a reality soon.

Moreover, the new model of the Midday Meal Scheme (MDM) as the PM Poshan Abhiyaan will give better development opportunities for underprivileged people.

1.          When children grow their own food, they will simultaneously take steps to be self-reliable.
2.         When we source raw materials locally for school meals, we will empower the farmers and other workers of the region.
3.         When experts regularly check every child’s nutrition levels, the children will grow up healthy without deficiencies and chronic diseases.

Our NGO in India is also taking initiatives to further improve nutrition in the meals we serve and make our cooking processes more sustainable. Some of such initiatives are: 

• ·         Introduction of millets in school meals
  

Millets are small-grained cereal food crops with five times higher nutritional content when compared with rice and wheat. They are rich in complex carbohydrates, dietary fibre, medicinal properties, iron, zinc, calcium and other nutrients that are essential for curbing the problem of malnutrition in India.

Moreover, they have a higher content of niacin, B6, folic acid, potassium, phosphorous and magnesium which will help us include more micronutrients in the food we serve. They are also easy to digest and known for strengthening the nervous system. 

Therefore, adding millets to school meals will help enhance the digestion process, reduce cholesterol, prevent heart disease, protect against diabetes, lower cancer risks, increase energy levels and improve the muscular system in millions of underprivileged children in India. 

Finally, since these crops are native to India and can be grown in low fertile soils with low inputs of fertilisers and pesticides, they also prove to be an integral part of sustainable food-growing practices. 

Hence, we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nutrihub, the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) and the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) to introduce millets in the mid-day meal menu for children in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and eventually, across the country.

• ·        Building sustainable kitchen infrastructure

Our kitchens are known worldwide for following advanced manufacturing practices and international standards of hygiene and quality, thus ensuring that the most nutritious meals reach our beneficiaries.

Now with our new kitchens, we constantly put efforts to integrate sustainability with our state-of-the-art kitchens. For instance, we use solar panels for electricity production with a heat pump and solar water heater to boil water during food production.  

Final Thoughts

As we approach the end of the year, let’s pledge to strive harder in the coming year keeping in mind our ultimate goals of empowering the marginalised.

Let’s reach every corner of our nation where the underserved communities await a helping hand and a secure life!