Akshaya Patra Foundation Honored With Mahatma Award For 2021

* The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a Bengaluru-based not-for-profit that strives to address malnutrition and supports the right to education of socio-economically disadvantaged children through the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Program, bagged the prestigious award in the ‘Mahatma Award for COVID - 19 Humanitarian Effort’ category

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a Bengaluru-based non-profit organization running one of the world's largest school meals project in India, has been awarded the ‘Mahatma Award for COVID - 19 Humanitarian Effort’.

Dr. Kiran Bedi, Honorable Chief Guest, along with Award Founder, Mr. Amit Sachdeva and other Distinguished Guests presented the prestigious award to Shri Bharatarshabha Dasa, Regional President – Delhi NCR, UP & Uttarakhand, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, at the India International Centre, New Delhi, India.

Shri Bharatarshabha Dasa said, “Since inception, The Mahatma Award has honored the private, public, and development sectors around the world who have been contributing immensely towards accomplishing sustainable, responsible and social initiatives. It’s a matter of pride for Akshaya Patra to be felicitated for the efforts we make towards philanthropy, shared value, and corporate social responsibility by ‘Mahatma Award for COVID - 19 Humanitarian Effort.’ We will continue our efforts to contribute towards social impacts and lead the way to a sustainable future.”

Appreciating Akshaya Patra's incredible endeavor, Mr Shridhar Venkat, CEO, said, “It is a matter of great honor for The Akshaya Patra Foundation to be bestowed the Mahatma Award 2021 for the COVID-19 Humanitarian Efforts category. It validates our efforts to support the health of our beneficiary children and communities in these times of adversity. I want to extend my sincere gratitude to all the jury members for recognising our efforts. I also want to thank the Government of India and state governments for placing trust in us and providing us the opportunity to serve the people of our country.”

The Akshaya Patra Foundation aims to address malnutrition and support the right to education of socio-economically disadvantaged children of the nation and beyond. With this vision, the organization has been concerting all its efforts towards providing fresh and nutritious meals to children on every school day since 2000.

Today, Akshaya Patra has 58 kitchens spread across 12 states & 2 Union territories of India, a result of the successful partnership with the Government of India, various State Governments, and generous supporters. 

Since March 2020, The Akshaya Patra Foundation turned all its resources to undertake Food Relief across the country. The Foundation served at-risk communities with Wholesale (Cooked) Meals and Grocery Kits, expanding food relief to support the Mid-Day Meal beneficiaries with Happiness Kits. At present, Akshaya Patra has expanded Relief Efforts and is constantly adapting its service offerings to meet the need of the day.

Since March 2020, Akshaya Patra has been undertaking food relief in 20 states and one union territory through its network of kitchens. As of 30 September 2021, the Foundation has cumulatively served over 18.72 crore meals to vulnerable populations. These include 9.03 crore cooked meals, 14.44 lakh essential grocery kits (42 meal servings), 15.57 lakh Happiness Kits for MDM beneficiaries (20 meal servings), 45,159 Family Happiness Kits (120 meal servings), 36,595 Raksha Kits (21 meal servings) and 5,350 Shakti Kits (42 meal servings).

About The Akshaya Patra Foundation:

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an NGO headquartered in Bengaluru that strives to eliminate classroom hunger by implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in the government schools and government-aided schools of India. The organization’s fruitful partnerships with the Government of India and various State Governments, along with the persistent support from corporates, individual donors, and well-wishers have helped them to grow from serving just 1,500 children in 5 schools in 2000 to serving 1.8 million children. Today, Akshaya Patra is the world’s largest (not-for-profit run) Mid-Day Meal Programme serving wholesome food every school day to over 1.8 million children from 19,039 schools across 12 states and 2 union territories of India.