AKSHAY PATRA KITCHEN OPENS IN AGRA

 

 

Agra October 14  (IANS)

 

Akshaya Patra, a project of the ISKCON Vrindavan, today began its operations in Agra, to provide quality mid-day meals to children in government schools.

 

The facility  set up at Lopamudra school near the Taj Mahal by Pareek Foundation will cater to more than 38,000 school children in Agra area, said district magistrate Pankaj Kumar while inaugurating the facility.

 

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Akshaya Patra will be feeding children between the ages of 3 and 6 in Anganwadis across two blocks of Agra, the Achnera block and the Agra city centres. Through this initiative the Foundation will be feeding 38,000 children across 700 centres in the region every day. The food will be supplied by the Akshaya Patra kitchen at Vrindavan.

Aside from this Akshaya Patra also provides food to many Anganwadis at Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad feeding 34,241 and 25,768 children respectively.

By implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in the Government schools and Government aided schools, Akshaya Patra aims to fight not only hunger but also to bring children to school and there by provide food for education.

Since 2000, the organisation has worked towards reaching more children with wholesome food on every single school day.

Akshaya Patra is continuously leveraging technology to cater to millions of children. Its state-of-the-art kitchens have become a subject of study and they spark curiosity among many enthusiasts from around the world.

In partnership with the Government of India and its respective State Governments, and inestimable support from many businesses, philanthropic donors and well-wishers; it has grown from humble beginnings in the year 2000, serving just 1500 children across 5 schools. Today Akshaya Patra is the world’s largest (not-for-profit run) mid-day meal programme serving wholesome food to over 1.4 million children from 10,661 schools across 10 states in India.

On November 28, 2001 the Supreme Court of India passed a mandate that:"Cooked mid-day meal is to be provided in all the Government and Government-aided primary schools in all the states." Akshaya Patra was called upon to provide testimonies to the Supreme Court in order to have the mandate passed.

By the time the Ministry of Human Resource Development - Department of School Health and Education extended its support to the initiative in 2003, Akshaya Patra was already reaching out to 23,000 children.

Today, Akshaya Patra has grown from One (in the year 2000) to 23 locations spread across 10 states in India, a result of the successful partnership with the Government of India and various State Governments as well as the generosity of thousands of supporters.