The world recognises India as a country of great economic and cultural importance. In recent years, there has also been a growing consensus that our country will be pivotal in driving global growth.
As our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi said “when India grows, the world grows; when India reforms, the world transforms.”
Today, we are also one of the leading nations to adopt massive sustainable development practices such as minimising carbon footprint and uplifting millions of our citizens from the grips of insufficiency and vulnerability.
When the whole world has placed its trust in our nation, it’s time we at Akshaya Patra—an esteemed NGO in India—pulled up our sleeves to support Government endeavours and nurture the dreams of our underprivileged but talented citizens.
And so we did!
Now Akshaya Patra reaches 65 locations, nourishing over 2 million (20,10,516) children in 22,367 schools across India every day of the year.
It includes feeding children under the Anganwadi Programme and the PM Poshan Abhiyaan (formerly known as the Midday Meal Scheme [mdm]).
There’s more to celebrate!
The year 2022 has been special with the inauguration of our new kitchens and hitting the new feeding milestone with online donations from our compassionate supporters.
“Feeding 3 million children by 2025” will be a reality soon.
Moreover, the new model of the Midday Meal Scheme (MDM) as the PM Poshan Abhiyaan will give better development opportunities for underprivileged people.
· When children grow their own food, they will simultaneously take steps to be self-reliable.
· When we source raw materials locally for school meals, we will empower the farmers and other workers of the region.
· When experts regularly check every child’s nutrition levels, the children will grow up healthy without deficiencies and chronic diseases.
Our NGO in India is also taking initiatives to further improve nutrition in the meals we serve and make our cooking processes more sustainable. Some of such initiatives are:
Introduction of millets in school meals
Millets are small-grained cereal food crops with five times higher nutritional content when compared with rice and wheat. They are rich in complex carbohydrates, dietary fibre, medicinal properties, iron, zinc, calcium and other nutrients that are essential for curbing the problem of malnutrition in India.
Moreover, they have a higher content of niacin, B6, folic acid, potassium, phosphorous and magnesium which will help us include more micronutrients in the food we serve. They are also easy to digest and known for strengthening the nervous system.
Therefore, adding millets to school meals will help enhance the digestion process, reduce cholesterol, prevent heart disease, protect against diabetes, lower cancer risks, increase energy levels and improve the muscular system in millions of underprivileged children in India.
Finally, since these crops are native to India and can be grown in low fertile soils with low inputs of fertilisers and pesticides, they also prove to be an integral part of sustainable food-growing practices.
Hence, we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nutrihub, the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) and the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) to introduce millets in the mid-day meal menu for children in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and eventually, across the country.
Building sustainable kitchen infrastructure
Our kitchens are known worldwide for following advanced manufacturing practices and international standards of hygiene and quality, thus ensuring that the most nutritious meals reach our beneficiaries.
Now with our new kitchens, we constantly put efforts to integrate sustainability with our state-of-the-art kitchens. For instance, we use solar panels for electricity production with a heat pump and solar water heater to boil water during food production.
Final Thoughts
As we approach the end of the year, let’s pledge to strive harder in the coming year keeping in mind our ultimate goals of empowering the marginalised.
Let’s reach every corner of our nation where the underserved communities await a helping hand and a secure life!
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