A synergistic effort to nourish children

by Feed The Future Now Feed The Future Now

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an Indian NGO involved in providing mid-day meal i.e. school lunch to children studying in government schools. The NGO has been in the service of children since 2000 and is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Over the 17 years, it has strategically expanded its reach from one location to 36 locations spread across 12 states of India. It has extended the benefits of the Mid-Day Meal Programme from 1,500 children in five schools to more than 1.7 million children in over 14,000 schools. The Foundation is cognizant of the fact that food is not the answer to proper growth in children; rather nutritious food is what makes the difference. So that many more children benefit from the wholesome school lunch served by Akshaya Patra, the NGO launched a nation-wide campaign ‘Feed the Future Now’ on 27 May 2017 (the eve of World Hunger Day). Through this campaign, Akshaya Patra aims to address the issue of hidden hunger by making available nutritious food for children.

feed the future

The need for a synergistic effort

It isn’t any novel finding that working in unison results in double impact. And, this is relevant for all circumstances including a situation where it is crucial to provide nutritious food to children. And, it is heartening to see that the ‘Feed the Future Now’ campaign is receiving remarkable support from the Government of India and nine leading Corporates namely, GlaxoSmithKline, PepsiCo, Nestle, Reliance Fresh, Viacom18, Facebook, Big FM PVR Cinemas and The Lalit Group of Hotels. Following the Corporate launch on 27 May 2017, Akshaya Patra launched an official video of the campaign in the presence of renowned celebrities namely, Sanjeev Kapoor (Celebrity Chef and Entrepreneur), Shankar Mahadevan (Composer and Playback Singer), Vivek Oberoi (Indian Actor), and Sonali Bendre (Indian Actress) who assured of their complete support for the campaign.

Each participating member stressed on the fact that children are the future and it should be our utmost priority to ensure their right to nutritious food and education. Talking about the need for a synergistic effort, here is what some of the supporting partners had to say:

• “We reach out to a wide set of audiences across the country. In the past, we have leveraged this reach to spread awareness and bring various social causes to light, which resonates with our positioning of 'Suno Sunao Life Banao'. Taking this forward, we are now partnering with The Akshaya Patra Foundation, with an aim to focus on the issue of 'world hunger' through their 'Feed the Future Now' movement. By virtue of this association, we hope to highlight the relevance of this issue in India, by motivating our listeners to take cognizance of its seriousness and support it collectively as a society.” – Tarun Katyal, CEO, 92.7 BIG FM.

• “Nutrition is an important focus area for Nestlé. It has been our endeavour at Nestlé to contribute to nutritional education. Our flagship nutrition awareness programme, ‘Nestlé Healthy Kids’ aims to ensure adolescents adopt appropriate nutrition and physical activity habits, which are important for their development and learning ability. We believe that it is imperative for stakeholders to join hands in the journey towards building a nutritionally empowered society. We at Nestlé are committed to contribute towards alleviating the challenge of malnutrition and believe that if we work together. We pledge our commitment to ‘Feed the Future Now’ movement for a Nourished India, Educated India!” – Suresh Narayanan, Chairman & MD, Nestlé India.

• “Malnutrition is one of those issues that require urgent attention. The emphasis should not be on feeding just food but providing a nutritious meal. I implore more friends from the fraternity to join hands with the movement, and help us make our country a Poshit Bharat, Shikshit Bharat (Nourished India, Educated India).” - Shankar Mahadevan, Goodwill Ambassador for Akshaya Patra.

• “Children are India’s future and one will be surprised that many of our children cannot afford a decent meal owing to poverty. If all of us get together and take responsibility for feeding a child per year, they will not have to drop-out of school because of a hungry stomach. We would have contributed to nation-building in our own little way.” - Sonali Bendre.

The above quotes are not mere statements; rather it’s a unified call for action that only by collaborated efforts we can make a difference in the lives of children who are the future stakeholders of the society and the nation. As they say, the future is now, so take action, participate in the Feed the Future Now campaign and feed the children, now!