Serving Children as a NGO in Chhattisgarh Since 2009

1. The The AkshayaPatra Foundation The AkshayaPatra Foundation ©2015

2. With the motto of providing food for education, The AkshayaPatra Foundation expanded its operational reach as a NGO in Chhattisgarh in January 2009. To provide mid-day meal in Chhattisgarh, the Foundation set up a centralised kitchen unit at Bhilai. The cooked meal from this AkshayaPatra kitchen gets distributed among the government schools in the vicinity in customised meal delivery vans. AkshayaPatra always strives to provide clean, hygienic and nutritious meals to children. Due to this all AkshayaPatra kitchens follow standard operating procedures comprising of personal hygiene, safety measures in food handling right from procurement stage to delivery stage, post-delivery feedback procedure and periodical audits by internal and external agencies. The Bhilai kitchen of Chhattisgarh is one among the ISO 22000:2005 certified kitchens of the Foundation. The AkshayaPatra Foundation ©2015

3. Currently as a NGO in Chhattisgarh, AkshayaPatra feeds approximately 23,674 children across 160 government schools. These children hail from the vicinity of the Bhilai kitchen. Considering the local palate the menu items of the mid-day meal in Chhattisgarh includes rice, dal (cooked pulses), kadhi (yogurt curry), khichdi (lentils rice), vegetable preparations and more. The local palate of each region is taken care of the Foundation while providing mid-day meal with the aim that children should enjoy the food. This meal is one of the most crucial and vital meal for the beneficiaries as most of them hail from the lower socio-economic strata and for them receiving one full meal is itself a struggle. This is the reason many children opt to earning for a square meal, but with the implementation of mid-day meals in schools, it acts as an incentive for children to come to school. This incentive not only nourishes their body with wholesome meal but also nourishes their minds with rightful education. Stories of hope will bring across many anecdotes of beneficiaries from Chhattisgarh. The common thread among all the stories is the staunch determination that is ingrained in each beneficiary to achieve big in life. These beneficiaries dare to aspire thereby overcoming their present unfavourable circumstance in life. These anecdotes will also reveal how mid-day meal in Chhattisgarh has helped children to receive plateful of nutritious meal every day and how this meal has countered classroom hunger thereby enhancing concentration levels among children. Apart from serving children as a NGO in Chhattisgarh,AkshayaPatra also implements the mid-day meal programme in 23 more locations. Approximately, 10,845 government schools in 10 states receive freshly cooked nutritious meals each day from this NGO. In total, AkshayaPatra provides mid-day meal to over 1.4 million children every day across India. The determination and ‘can do’ attitude of these millions of beneficiaries are the inspiration behind each of the AkshayaPatra kitchen across the country. Be a part of this massive programme by being a donor, volunteer, online supporter, blogger, photographer, fundraiser etc. You can also partner with AkshayaPatra to fulfil your organisation’s CSR initiatives. You can be a part in the service of children by getting involved with the organisation. Follows us @ The AkshayaPatra Foundation ©2015