Operation of Akshaya Patra
OPERATION OF AKSHAYA PATRA
In June 2000, we started our mid-day meal program in Bangalore by feeding 1500 children in 5 schools. At that time there was no State run school meal program in Karnataka. Within a few short weeks we had received hundreds of requests from teachers who expressed the dire need of such a scheme.
In November 28, 2001 the Supreme Court of India passed an order which mandated 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 in to give testimonies to the Supreme Court in order to implement the mandate.
• By the time the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of School Health and Education) extended its support to this noble cause in 2003, Akshaya Patra was already reaching out to 23,000 underprivileged children through the support of our donors.
• Now we are reaching out to 1.3 million children everyday.
• The kitchen is at the heart of our work. With close to 1.3 million meals prepared everyday throughout India, the Akshaya Patra kitchens are highly mechanized and scalable. Often termed as Intelligently Engineered Kitchens, they were built with a commitment to quality and hygiene that ensures the best possible food for the children.
• Each one is uniquely tailored to meet the requirements of its location, so that the meal provided by Akshaya Patra is suited to the regional preferences of the children.
• There are two types of kitchens: centralized and decentralized.
• Currently, the Akshaya Patra Foundation has set up 16 centralized and 3 de-centralized kitchens across 9 states.
• A centralized model is one where all the cooking activities of a particular location are concentrated within one large kitchen.
• Each Akshaya Patra centralized kitchen has the capacity to cook between 50 000 to 150 000 meals daily thus achieving economies of scale. Cooking takes place in mechanized, steam heated cauldrons custom built to reduce
In June 2000, we started our mid-day meal program in Bangalore by feeding 1500 children in 5 schools. At that time there was no State run school meal program in Karnataka. Within a few short weeks we had received hundreds of requests from teachers who expressed the dire need of such a scheme.
In November 28, 2001 the Supreme Court of India passed an order which mandated 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 in to give testimonies to the Supreme Court in order to implement the mandate.
• By the time the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of School Health and Education) extended its support to this noble cause in 2003, Akshaya Patra was already reaching out to 23,000 underprivileged children through the support of our donors.
• Now we are reaching out to 1.3 million children everyday.
• The kitchen is at the heart of our work. With close to 1.3 million meals prepared everyday throughout India, the Akshaya Patra kitchens are highly mechanized and scalable. Often termed as Intelligently Engineered Kitchens, they were built with a commitment to quality and hygiene that ensures the best possible food for the children.
• Each one is uniquely tailored to meet the requirements of its location, so that the meal provided by Akshaya Patra is suited to the regional preferences of the children.
• There are two types of kitchens: centralized and decentralized.
• Currently, the Akshaya Patra Foundation has set up 16 centralized and 3 de-centralized kitchens across 9 states.
• A centralized model is one where all the cooking activities of a particular location are concentrated within one large kitchen.
• Each Akshaya Patra centralized kitchen has the capacity to cook between 50 000 to 150 000 meals daily thus achieving economies of scale. Cooking takes place in mechanized, steam heated cauldrons custom built to reduce