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Sponsor mid day meals to children in Orissa by The Akshaya Patra Foundation

Needs more donors to continue operations

Sponsor mid day meals to children in Orissa

Thank you!

This program is fully funded because of donors like you.

Impact

Only one thing kept Suchismita going to school.

Suchismita is from a poor family in Orissa. Her father runs a tea stall and earns very little each day. Her mother takes a few stitching orders to help the family, but even then they never have enough money.

Suchismita is the eldest of three siblings. Two of them study in school. When the youngest child was born, her parents wanted to stop sending Suchismita to school. They worried that the expenses would be too much and education was not a priority to them.

When The Akshaya Patra foundation began their mid-day meal program in Suchismita’s school, her parents changed their minds. This gave both Suchismita and her sibling healthy, well-cooked meals once a day without fail. Her parents knew that their varying daily income could not promise much to the children. So that guarantee of nutrition was a blessing to their family.

Suchismita is an active student who loves to learn new things. Her favourite subjects are English and Social Science. Someday she hopes to become a teacher who can inspire children like her to create a better life.

One good meal a day is a strong incentive for parents to send their children to school. You could help families like Suchismita’s by supporting the mid-day meal program. You can give with confidence because every program on our platform is GIVEASSURED.

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Giveassured

By donating to this program

you will be sponsoring the overall costs incurred to support the beneficiaries


About The Program

What the beneficiary gets
Nutrition
What you get
Tax Exemption
Periodic Reports
Program Description

The Akshaya Patra Foundation provides underprivileged children with a healthy meal a day. The surest way to break this cycle of poverty is through education. Education can improve the quality of life for generations to come.

When the basic needs of a child are not met, education often becomes the last priority. At times like that, a mid-day meal is an incentive for them to continue their education and reduces dropout rate.

The food is cooked in centralized kitchens and the program is implemented across schools in partnership with the government of India.

Close to 1.5 million children in 10 states are provided with mid-day meals. Donate to this program and you will support one child in a school in Orissa get access to a meal a day. This may be the only good meal they eat in a day and will help them resume their education

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About The NGO

The Akshaya Patra Foundation
The Akshaya Patra Foundation Logo
The Akshaya Patra Foundation

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a non-profit organisation that was founded in Bengaluru, India to fight issues like hunger and malnutrition by implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in the government and government-aided schools. Aiming also to bring children to school, the organization has worked towards reaching more children with wholesome food on every single school day.

Continuously leveraging technology to cater to millions of children, their state-of-the-art kitchens have become a subject of study attracting curious visitors from around the world. With humble beginnings of serving just 1,500 children across 5 schools their program has become the world's largest (not-for-profit run) mid-day meal programme serving wholesome food to over 1.6 million children from 13,839 schools across 12 states in India.

Their efforts have been recognized nationally and internationally with awards like CII National Food Safety Awards by the CII Food Safety, International ARC Award by the International ARC honoring outstanding achievements in annual reports and Nikkei Asia Prize by the Nikkei in Economic and Business Innovation. Their mission to feed 5 million children by 2020 reflects the 6,550 strong staff's commitment that no child in India shall be deprived of Education because of Hunger.

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founders
Founded in 1991
NGO Leadership

Shridhar Venkat

areas of operation
Area of Operation
Area of Operation

Mid-day Meals | children

location of work
Location of Work
Location of Work

Rajasthan | Odisha | Karnataka | Gujarat | Assam | Uttar Pradesh

awards
Awards And Recognitions
Awards And Recognitions

2016: Ashoka Changemaker School

2016: International Award for Young People

2016: Noble Service Award

2015: Social Innovation and Iconic Leadership Award

last audited
Last Audited
Periodic Compliance Checks by GiveIndia

Renewals FY 19-20

Program Updates

Program Updates

22 September, 2023

An update on the program you are supporting

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Activities and work undertaken in the last 5-6 months

Total number of beneficiaries impacted was 732 in Odisha with 40% being females


Challenges faced and next steps

The program stands true to its aim of curbing classroom hunger and addressing malnutrition by providing nutritious and delicious meals to 700+ students. This has helped the students improve socialisation among themselves and also increase attendance for school.


Stories from the ground

Beneficiary�s Name: Sania Over the past two years, millions of families have struggled to put food on plates for their families. And with schools closed, many children lost their only access to nutrition in these years. For underprivileged children and their families, healthy nutrition transforms their lives and gifts them the hope to regain their livelihood. �I just want to go home from work every day and know I made a difference! I want to be a teacher because I want to be able to help mould and shape our future. I truly believe that children are our future, and it is important that we provide them with the right information and tools to lead their lives in a positive way,� Saina says. Saina is a Class 6 student and a beneficiary of the Mid-Day Meal Programme run by The Akshaya Patra Foundation that serves more than 2 million children across the country every school day.


5 December, 2022

Mid-day meal for Government School Children

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Activities and work undertaken in the last 5-6 months

New kitchens were inaugurated by Akshaya Patra to reach out to more children. 5 new kitchens were launched in the last 6 months, which means that close to 1,50,000 more children will get access to mid-day meals. At present 18,00,907 children are given mid day meals daily. Mid-day meals are prepared in the centralised and decentralised kitchens with top priority given to hygiene and safety. Locally palatable meals are prepared in a cyclical manner to break the monotony in taste that could lead to wastage of food. These meals are distributed in over 19,039 Government and Government-aided schools to end classroom hunger in children. The school meals served by The Akshaya Patra Foundation are healthy and nutritious. These meals when served on a daily basis, nourish them for a long term and support the overall development of children – physical and cognitive. These meals also act as an incentive for children to come to school every day, thereby reducing the school dropout rates, which in turn helps them get educated. These meals help children focus for a longer time and increases their attention span, ultimately improving their academic scores.


Challenges faced and next steps

The vision of The Akshaya Patra Foundation is to feed 5 million children by 2025. In order to achieve this number, many more kitchens will be launched to ensure that nutritious meals reach to every nook and corner of the country, so that every school-going child from the low-income sections of society is benefitted.


Stories from the ground

Rajalaxmi Mohapatra studies in Odisha's Dumuduma Village PUP School's 6th standard. She is born to Jagannath Mohapatra a security guard and Sasmita Mohapatra who is a homemaker. She dreams of becoming a Police Officer. To become a Police Officer, she is aware that her body needs nutritious meals to stay strong. As a school meal beneficiary, her nutritional requirements are met by the mid-day meals. Her favourite dishes are Rice, Kheer, Dalma, Paneer and Rajma.

Shradhanjali Behera, from Odisha, studies in 5th standard of Government Primary school, Nazarpur. She lives with her parents who are daily wage workers and two elder brothers. It is difficult for her family to survive only her father's income, hence, the mid-day meals provided at school are a boon. These meals help in the development of her mind and body. Shradhanjali says that these meals are nutritious and tasty.


23 May, 2022

Mid-day Meals in Orissa

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Activities and work undertaken in the last 5-6 months

Due to the closure of schools, mid-day meal beneficiaries were deprived of their daily share of nutrition. Hence, to nourish them while schools were closed, Happiness Kits were provided to support their nutrition, health, hygiene, and education. Many dignitaries and famous personalities have supported the implementation of the mid-day meal programme.

109 children are fed every day. By receiving mid-day meals every day, their health improved and they were able to concentrate better in the classroom. There was a significant improvement in their physical strength and cognitive ability.


Challenges faced and next steps

Due to the closure of schools, mid-day meal beneficiaries did not receive their daily share of school meals. To nourish them while they studied at home and to support their families, Family Happiness Kits were provided. Each kit contained rice, wheat flour, pulses and legumes, spices, oil, etc., along with learning materials like activity workbooks, colored pencils and crayons, etc. We aim to feed 109 children every day for the next 6 months.


Stories from the ground

ROSHNI I want to be a cosmetic surgeon. 6th standard Roshni, studying in Odisha’s government school. She is one beneficiary who has developed a liking for the internet and digital India. She has a small patch of white-colored skin on her chin. Roshni realized that she was insecure about her patch and worried about the food she ate for no reason. Today, she is glad she has accepted the patch as her mark of identity. With this identity, she wants to become a cosmetic surgeon and give confidence to people who are insecure about their looks.


5 August, 2020

A visit to the kitchen and food distribution by the donors

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A visit to the kitchen and food distribution by the donors




On 11 December 2019, at the CII Food Safety Quality & Regulatory Summit and Award Ceremony in New
Delhi, The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s Bhavnagar kitchen bagged the prestigious CII Award for Outstanding
Performance and the Thane kitchen received CII Commendation Certificate for Strong Commitment to Good
Manufacturing Practices.
On 20 February 2020, Honourable Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Kamal Nath graced the occasion of
Bhumi Pujan of The Akshaya Patra Foundation at Chhindwara district. The dignitaries present along with the
Chief Minister were Shri Nakul Nath, MP of Lok Sabha; Shri Ravi Jhunjhunwala, President of HEG Ltd.; and
Shri Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice-Chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation.
The Foundation’s Chhindwara kitchen aims to feed healthy and nutritious meals to 7,000 students in 116
Government and Government-aided schools within the first phase. In the second phase, Akshaya Patra aims to
serve school meals to 15,000 students over a period of six months.



19 November, 2019

Awards and kitchen inauguration in progress

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Awards and kitchen inauguration in progress








22 July, 2019

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Program Update


Akshaya Patra reaches out to 1,762,133 children in 42 locations across 12 states of India, providing them with freshly cooked meal on all school days. Currently, we implement the mid-day meal programme in 15,024 schools of the country, with plans to increase that number to hundreds more.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been chosen as the BBC World Service’s Global Food Champion 2019.
Shri Chanchalapathi Dasa, Hon’ble Vice-Chairman of Akshaya Patra, received the award at a ceremony held in Bristol City Council, United Kingdom. The CEO of Akshaya Patra UK, Mr Bhawani Shekhawat also attended the award ceremony.
This was the third edition of Global Food Champion, an annual award that honours people or causes that help societies and inspire lives. In 2018, a very talented chef and caring humanitarian, Mr Jose Andres – the man who helped provide 3.4 million meals to people in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria – won the award.
https://www.akshayapatra.org/stories-of-children/archana-the-girl-who-dreams-of-joining-the-police-force


Story from the field


My name is Shakti Kumar Dash. I am an Akshaya Patra beneficiary from Chandra Brahmapur School in Puri. I study in Standard VI. Drawing is my favourite pastime and I have been drawing regularly ever since I could hold a pencil. My favourite subject is Odia and favourite teacher is Ms Dharitri Mishra. She teaches in a friendly way and has a kind behaviour towards students.
I work hard for the lessons taught in my classroom. I believe, it's my positive thinking and confidence that helps me in scoring the highest marks in the entire class every time. Indeed, I feel I can do much more!
My father works as a priest for the last 25 years and mother is a homemaker. It’s no secret that I draw inspiration from my parents. In fact, I’d say they are the biggest reason I’m so passionate about helping people to the best I can.
My name, Shakti, speaks much about me. I admire power. As I grow up, with my strength I want to become a Police Officer and extend help to people for good.
I have been relishing the mid-day-meals served at school by Akshaya Patra since last 6 years. It is hot, tasty and calms my hunger. In mid-day-meals, I like soya chunks and kheer the most. My parents have also tasted the mid-day-meals and they say it will keep me healthy.


What is the expected total number of beneficiaries in this program for FY18-19?2210806
What is the number of beneficiaries/ benefits provided in this program, Year-To-Date3436000000
Village/City/State where project is locatedOrissa
Total Budget for the project for FY18-193919640000
Total Expenses for the project YTD3435990000

30 October, 2018

The Akshaya Patra Foundation's Update

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Program Update


The noble cause of The Akshaya Patra Foundation began with serving school lunches to about 1,500 children in 2000 to 5 government schools in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The organisation, known for its dedicated service, now aspires to reach out to 5 million children daily by 2020.


Starting the cause with just 1 van delivering food from a kitchen in Bengaluru across the schools, the Akshaya Patra Foundation now serves over 1.7 million children across 14,173 schools in 12 states across India.


The programme embraced the vision that -
"No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger."


Today, through the partnership with the Government of India and various State Governments, as well as philanthropic donors; the organization runs the world's largest mid-day meal programme. Built on a public-private partnership, Akshaya Patra combines good management, innovative technology and smart engineering to deliver a nutritious and hygienic school lunch.


Story from the field


A student of class III, Ranthi came across as a shy child. Ranthi lost her father when she was a toddler. It got worse when her mother--perhaps worried about how she would raise a child on her own--left without informing anyone. Ranthi was left at the mercy of her grandparents, and despite having a host of problems--poverty being one of them, the couple decided to raise the girl as their own child. Ranthi's grandfather, who works in other people's fields as a daily wage employee, narrates the story of how they mustered the courage to send the little girl to school. "We live in a bad condition. Most of our energy is spent in trying to figure out how to get a proper meal for ourselves and Ranthi. The thought of sending her to school was there. We couldn't give our son proper schooling, and as a result, he is out there in the city doing odd jobs that come his way. We didn't want Ranthi to suffer the same fate. So we wanted to send her to school, but couldn't figure out how to do that."


Ranthi's grandparents had heard about meals being distributed in the school every afternoon, but they were under the assumption that they will have to pay to get that food. They were not sure if they could afford it. One day when he was passing by the school, he saw Akshaya Patra vehicle delivering food to the school. He mustered courage to ask the vehicle driver where this food was coming from and how much he would have to pay for it. "When he said I won't have to pay anything, I was surprised," he remembers. "He sent me to the school authorities and they told me that if I get Ranthi admitted to the school, she too will get the same food." He was elated at the idea of his granddaughter getting a plateful of food every day, something that she was not guaranteed at home. Thus, started Ranthi's journey of schooling, and along with good food, she also got access to proper education. Ranthi symbolizes the story of hundreds of children from these parts of Odisha, for whom school is the route to better life.


At 11, Ranthi may not understand the importance of nutritious food, but there is no denying the fact that it is important for her growth. At home, they mostly eat rice gruel with salt or chilies--a trend that is quite prevalent in this region. At school, she gets a variety of food, including her favorite daal paneer, kheer, and soyabadi. It is this nutritious food that helps Ranthi make the most of the playtime she gets at school!


Expected total number of beneficiaries in this program for FY18-19
Number of beneficiaries/ benefits provided in this program this year

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