THE BACKGROUND

India has experienced significant economic development over the past two decades, yet many are still struggling to provide food for their families. For too many children in India, hunger is a barrier to education, keeping millions locked in a cycle of poverty. The pandemic has resulted in more students dropping out due to lack of funds.  

• Out of 100 students, 29% of girls and boys drop out of school before completing the full cycle of elementary education, and often they are the most marginalized children.  

• Around 50% of adolescents do not complete secondary education, while approximately 20 million children do not attend pre-school.  

• Half of the primary school-going children – which constitutes nearly 50 million children* – not achieving grade-appropriate learning levels.  

THE SOLUTION: THE FOOD FOR EDUCATION INITIATIVE

Would you be able to study and learn if hunger was your classroom companion?

Classroom hunger affects children’s ability to learn and grow. To solve this challenge, Akshaya Patra began the Food for Education initiative.

Akshaya Patra strives to eliminate classroom hunger and aims at countering malnutrition and supporting the right to education of socio-economically disadvantaged children. By feeding them one wholesome meal a day, students get the nourishment and motivation they need to pursue an education for a better future.

All it costs is INR 1500 to feed a child for a year.

Children need nutrients so they can grow, develop and focus on learning instead of thinking about the food they need. Ultimately, they need to be able to concentrate in the classroom so they can succeed in school and be prepared to enter the workforce as adults.

Pic: Students enjoying their wholesome Mid-Day Meal in school.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

Akshaya Patra is focused on eliminating classroom hunger and attracting more children (enrolment) to schools and ensuring to keep them in school (reduce dropout rate) by feeding a filling, nutritious mid-day meal every school day. The Mid-Day meal serves as an incentive for children to get proper education, improve socialization among children, and empower women through employment opportunities.

Pic: The nutritious meal served in school brings a big smile and positive change in the life of the students.

FUND GENEROUSLY

IF YOU FUND,

• INR 3000, you impact 2 students for a year.

• INR 6000, you impact 4 students for a year.

• INR 12000, you impact 8 students for a year.

ALL FUNDING HAS 80G BENEFITS.

Pic: The nutritious meal served in school brings a big smile and positive change in the life of the students.

ABOUT ME AND THIS CAMPAIGN

My name is AARAV SHARMA. I am 12-years-old and in Grade 8 at the Pathways School, Gurgaon.

Imagine travelling to school, studying for long hours, and playing in the sun, all on an empty stomach. Frightening isn’t it? Just skipping one meal a day would be difficult for most of us. We wouldn’t be able to function too well throughout the rest of the day. Fortunately, we have the luxury of having three meals a day to keep us healthy and strong, both mentally and physically.

However, many children in govt schools in Uttar Pradesh come from low-income homes and do not have this luxury. The happiness they experience by just receiving one meal in a day is immeasurable. Through this campaign, we have the opportunity to convert the dreams of many children into a happy reality by giving them fresh, nutritious, and tasty mid-day meals through the Akshaya Patra initiative. It takes just INR 1500 to give a child 232 meals in a year. Fund INR 3000 for example and support the mid-day meals for two children for an entire year.

The “Akshaya Patra's mid-day meal program”, not only motivates students to go to school but also ensures that they are attentive at school. It impacts attendance, health, and grades at school.

So, what are you waiting for? Please support this campaign and bring a smile to a child with your small act of kindness. Help spread this message on your social media platforms so that others also have the opportunity to share in this initiative.

THE IMPACT

WORLD'S LARGEST MID-DAY MEAL PROGRAM

AKSHAYA PATRA KITCHEN - QUALITY AND HYGIENE 

From preparation to delivery of mid-day meals, the Akshaya Patra kitchens operate on a daily basis keeping in mind the two most important elements: hygiene and quality.

Centralized Mega Kitchens 

Employing a semi-automated, intensive operating model ensures high-quality food. The programme has incorporated a centralized approach, backed by technology-driven processes such as enhanced roti-making machines, steam-operated rice and dal cauldrons, heavy-duty vegetable cutters, sophisticated rice and vegetable cleaning machines, etc. 

Decentralized Kitchens

The programme also incorporates a decentralized mode of operation to cater to the needs of the local community and schools in remote areas.  

The unique feature of this model is that quite often, the women cooking the meals are the mothers of the children we reach out to.  

EXPENSES BREAKDOWN

OUR PARTNER

Since 2000, Akshaya Patra has been concerting all its efforts towards providing fresh and nutritious meals to children on every single school day. We are continuously leveraging technology to multiply our reach. The state-of-the-art kitchens have become a subject of study and have attracted curious visitors from around the world.

LOCATION - MAP

POWER OF A HOT MEAL

TAX BENEFITS

Funding for this campaign is eligible for tax breaks as Akshaya Patra Foundation as an NGO is a registered trust and you can avail of benefits under section 80G of the IT act. 

FEEDBACK/CAMPAIGN UPDATES FOR YOU

To ensure that there is complete transparency I shall get a report from the NGO (this takes between 2 to 4 months usually after the funds are raised and transferred to them) telling me who benefitted from the funding. The details will then be posted from Akshaya Patra on the UPDATES section of my campaign. As soon as I post an update, the platform will send an EMAIL alert to all the funders - i.e. to you. Click on the link on the email and you can read about who benefitted. That's transparent right.

The below image is an example of the FEEDBACK FORMAT that we will be sharing with all my funders.

SCHOOLS WHERE WE PLAN TO DISTRIBUTE THE MID-DAY MEAL 

The Mid-day meal will be distributed to 2,52,938 children in 3,543 schools across Uttar Pradesh. We can provide mid-day meals for more students if we raise more funds. This will help bring more smiles and cheers to students and help us achieve the Foundation’s Vision that ‘’No child in India shall be deprived of Education, because of Hunger’’.

For this campaign, the beneficiary students will be from schools in Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow, Vrindavan, Gorakhpur, Mant, Varanasi, Jhangirpuri, Badli, Gole Market, etc.)