Modernised kitchens of Akshaya Patra in Uttar Pradesh

by Akshaya Patra NGO in India - Akshaya Patra

The Supreme Court mandated in 2001 that every child studying in Government and Government-aided schools should receive free school meals. The Mid-Day Meal Programme was started in Uttar Pradesh on 1^st September 2004. The Mid-Day Meal Scheme was extended to Upper Primary Schools in October 2007.

Uttar Pradesh has 85.3 million children who are below 18 years. The Akshaya Patra Foundation implements the Midday Meal Programme to support food for education to children in Uttar Pradesh since 2004. The first centralised kitchen was established in Vrindavan, followed by Lucknow and then Gorakhpur. The Lucknow and Vrindavan kitchens are ISO 22000:2005 certified and Gorakhpur is on the way of certification.

The Foundation has been able to feed 2,23,608 children studying in 3,490 schools of Uttar Pradesh. To ensure that there is a variety of nutritious food, locally palatable meals are served in a cyclical manner, in keeping with the nutritional guidelines detailed by the MHRD.

The centralised kitchens in Uttar Pradesh follow strict hygiene and safety norms. They follow Six Sigma methodologies, KAIZEN and various Continuous Improvement projects to increase the operational process efficiency. They have the capacity to cook around 1 lakh meals a day.

Cyclical and locally palatable menu of Akshaya Patra’s Gujarat kitchens

The centralised kitchens in Uttar Pradesh prepare and serve local flavours of the state that include Chana Dal Lauki, Jeera Rice, Tahari, Kheer, Aloo Rajma, Plain Rice, Roti, Arhar Palak Dal, Aloo Black Chana, etc. The menu is changed periodically to ensure that children readily consume their mid-day meals and benefit from its nutritional value.

Akshaya Patra’s contribution during the COVID-19 crisis

The Akshaya Patra Foundation began its COVID-19 Food Relief Service in Uttar Pradesh on 28^th March 2020. It began its food relief service in Mathura and Vrindavan. As the need increased, the Foundation expanded its operations to Lucknow, Agra, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Kanpur. As on 8^th September, 14,23,400 cooked meals were served and 56,919 families from low-income sections of the society were supported with grocery kits.

Beneficiaries of the COVID-19 Food Relief Service in Uttar Pradesh

Gangaram – a daily wage worker lost his job in Omex city, Vrindavan. Being the only breadwinner in his family of 4 members, the loss of his job was a big blow to the family.

Gangaram then started availing the meals provided by The Akshaya Patra Foundation. He looked out for work, but in vain. His failing economic situation made life difficult to cope with. This affected the family since every penny that he had saved for a rainy day was exhausted within a week!

The cooked meals which ensured that he does not have to spend on gas, oil and provision since the meals are hot, nutritious and freshly cooked. These meals keep him and his family healthy during these tough times.

Bhawani Shankar, a 57-year-old man, is one of the many people who was benefitted by the Akshaya Patra’s grocery kits distribution during the lockdown. Bhawani is a daily wage earner at a steel factory and is the only breadwinner in his family of six. The pandemic handicapped his daily source of earning. He says, “The food we bought just didn’t last and we didn’t have enough money to buy more.” Adding further, he said, “The children were not eating enough because we just couldn’t afford enough food.” He is immensely grateful to Akshaya Patra for extending support to needy families during these difficult times. He expresses his relief by saying, “These dry grocery boxes will surely comfort us in our daily struggles for food.”

There are millions of people who are affected by the pandemic and the resulting lockdown. The food relief from Akshaya Patra helps them to receive their share of food.

Support Akshaya Patra’s Food Relief Service in Uttar Pradesh and across India.