March 17 Speaker Sandhya Rao

About Akshaya Patra Akshaya Patra's vision is that no child is deprived of education because of hunger. Our goal is to replicate our model program throughout India, and beyond.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is the largest NGO run mid day meal program in the world that utilizes innovative technology, smart engineering and good management to provide a freshly prepared nutritious mid day school meal to nearly 1.2 million disadvantaged school children in India every day. For many children, this is their only complete meal of the day and gives them an incentive to come to school, stay in school and focus on learning. It is economic necessities mostly that force these children to take up menial jobs.

The hallmark of Akshaya Patra program are the centralized kitchen facilities that have been designed and engineered from scratch to optimize quality and minimize cost, time and labor. Because of extensive use of technology it costs only $31 to feed one child for an entire academic year. With 63% average subsidy from the Government coupled with extensive use of technology, Akshaya Patra feeds a child for $11.50.

Akshaya Patra operates in eight Indian states, across 8,000 schools and is registered as a 501(c) 3 organization in the US –The Akshaya Patra Foundation USA.

Mission

To address childhood hunger and malnutrition in India

To increase underprivileged children's access to education.