Akshaya Patra extends its circle of care with 66th kitchen

According to Indian tradition, a householder cannot eat until he feeds hungry people in the vicinity of his home. Sharing is common across all civilised cultures. It is part of the concept of seeing everyone as the same god, even though we might not be equals socially. The spirit that resides in each person cannot be categorised as Hindu, Muslim or Christian. Similarly, hunger pangs cannot be differentiated. Everyone feels it the same way.

― Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation

The Sanskrit word "Akshaya Patra" refers to a "Vessel of Abundance," according to a legend from the Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic. The Mid-Day Meal Programme in Karnataka was launched by the state government two years before Akshaya Patra's school lunch programme in Bengaluru (according to a Scroll article, "The origins of the midday meal scheme (in India) go back to the 1920s, when the then Madras Municipal Corporation in the Madras Presidency introduced the programme for underprivileged children...). The concept was accepted by the Indian government in 1995. The Indian Supreme Court ordered that all government schools must provide school lunch in 2001. The leadership at Akshaya Patra is aware of the paradox that there are many economically challenged people living in a wealthy nation like India.

The PM Poshan Abhiyaan, previously known as the Mid-Day Meal Programme (MDM Programme), has been the core service of The Akshaya Patra Foundation since 22 years. Before the pandemic, the NGO provided meals to 18 lakh (1.8 million) government school students every school day across the country. In October, the NGO reached a milestone by serving 2 million students every day. With the help of its business and governmental partners, the Foundation continues to broaden its reach with the goal of serving 3 million children every day by 2025.

Akshaya Patra believes that healthy meals and education are the two key instruments that children must use to reach their full potential and develop skills and attitudes that put them on the road to social and economic empowerment. Building a healthy, inclusive and secure learning ecosystem is how the NGOs programmes and projects accomplish their goals.

The project needed to be scaled significantly, which required efficient use of both people and material resources. The NGO automated its kitchen equipment. To produce food for all the Akshaya Patra-affiliated schools in Bengaluru, a central kitchen was set up. When Akshaya Patra began providing its services in other parts of India, this hub-and-spoke design was adopted there as well.

The 66th Kitchen

Adding to the list, Akshaya Patra inaugurated its 66^th kitchen in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 25 January 2023. The kitchen was inaugurated by Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of the state, in the presence of Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman – Akshaya Patra, and Shri Chanchalapathi Dasa, the Vice-Chairman – Akshaya Patra. The development of the new plant, which covers a total area of one acre, was funded by Hindustan Electro Graphite Ltd.

This is the first kitchen in Madhya Pradesh and the largest of Akshaya Patra's 66 kitchens. The kitchen is equipped with the following:

• Modern technology and automated equipment
• Carts and cauldrons
• Equipment for making rotis and pooris that can produce 10,000 pooris and 20,000 rotis per hour.
• 500-litre cauldrons for sabji or vegetables
• 12-litre dal cauldrons
• Hydraulic-powered 125-kg rice kettles
• A water filtration RO facility
• LoT Gasbank and ETP
• Cutting boards, knives, and other accessories of the same kind

They are guaranteed not to come into touch with fire directly, thanks to the steam-powered machinery. To guarantee that the recipients receive safe and nourishing meals, they are sanitized before each cooking cycle. Also, a sophisticated water treatment system in the kitchen cleans and disinfects the water used for cooking.

A total of 50,000 students from 900 schools in the Raisen district's Bhopal and Mandideep will be served from this kitchen. The children will receive weekly rotating meals from the new kitchen, including roti, poori, sabji, thepla, matar paneer, wheat cake, mixed veg soya masala, chole masala, rajma masala, jeera rice, plain rice, vegetable pulao, masala bhaji pulao, kheer and fruit.

The Mid-Day Meal Programme at Akshaya Patra benefits the health of children. Additionally, it has been proven that this programme encourages children to stay in school and pursue their education. Given the improvement in nutrition status, the programme has boosted child enrolment and retention in school while also improving student performance in the classroom. It is thought to be a successful "strategic intervention" that has improved the value of all current government expenditures on children's education. This is due to the fact that Akshaya Patra addresses the fundamental need of reducing hunger.

Donate to Akshaya Patra and be eligible to gain a 50% tax exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act as the Foundation is registered under Section 12A of the Act.

So, donate online today and support our cause to eliminate classroom hunger with mid-day meals among Government school children across India. Avail 50% tax exemption today!