Wagh Bakri Foundation Donates Delivery Vehicle To Akshaya Patra, Reiterates Support Towards Feeding 65,000 Children

* The donations made by Wagh Bakri Foundation will help 3,300 nutritious meals reach about 65,877 students in government schools in Bengaluru

Adding another milestone to their long-standing relationship, Wagh Bakri Foundation has reiterated its support towards The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s mission to eliminate child malnutrition in India by donating a delivery vehicle that will help transport hot and nutritious mid-day meals to government schools in Bengaluru.

The vehicle that will be part of Akshaya Patra’s kitchen in Bengaluru will help the NGO deliver 3,300 meals to about 65,877 children.

The generous donation is one of the many initiatives undertaken by Wagh Bakri in collaboration with on Akshaya Patra. As part of their decade-long partnership, both organizations have come together on various occasions to provide mid-day meals, distribute Happiness kits, and cooked meals to the underprivileged.

The delivery vehicle donated to Hare Krishna Hill was flagged off in Bengaluru on 30th March 2022 in the presence of Mr. PV Suresh, Senior General Manager (Sales), Wagh Bakri Tea Group and Sri Sridham Krishna Dasa, Director, Resource Mobilisation, The Akshaya Patra Foundation.

Speaking on the decade-long association, Mr. Paras Desai, Executive Director, Wagh Bakri Tea Group and Trustee, Wagh Bakri Foundation, said, “The Group is elated to join hands with The Akshaya Patra Foundation for the noble cause of providing nutritious meals to underprivileged students across India. The culture of Wagh Bakri Group has always been to ‘Give back to society. We at Wagh Bakri Tea Group believe 'Food is a fundamental human right' hence we strive to work towards fulfilling this responsibility towards the society we live in. Stepping ahead towards the goal of providing the right nutrition, we aid Akshay Patra with 6 food distribution vehicles for serving ‘Mid-Day Meal’ scheme of the Government of India. The vehicles will help Akshay Patra Foundation to reach the larger area and needier.”

Expressing gratitude for the donation by Wagh Bakri Foundation, Sri Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, said, “For the past 21 years, we’ve served hot and nutritious meals to children with an aim to eradicate classroom hunger and ascertain that no child should be deprived of education due to hunger. Our mission can only be achieved through partnerships like the one we have with Wagh Bakri. This long-standing collaboration and the donations being made as a part of a larger goal will go a long way in expanding the reach of Akshaya Patra’s meals to thousands more students in Bengaluru.”

About Wagh Bakri Tea Group

The Wagh Bakri Tea Group has been actively involved in philanthropic activities even before it was mandated by the CSR law. The Group has been making sincere endeavors to bring about a visible change in the society by contributing in the fields of education, healthcare, women empowerment and other socio-economic development activities.

Some of their notable contributions include the construction of education infrastructure at Vishvamangalam, Anera – Sabarkantha district of Gujarat, the creation of an endowment fund for ‘Cataract Surgeries’ to Blind People’s association, health equipment support to ‘Jivraj Mehta Smarak health Foundation’ in Ahmedabad, among others.

The Group has also extended support to the ‘Gujarat Cancer Society’ for spreading awareness & Prevention and joins hands during various relief interventions through partner organizations during the COVID pandemic.

About The Akshaya Patra Foundation

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that strives to address classroom hunger and malnutrition in India. By implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Government and Government-aided schools, Akshaya Patra aims to fight hunger and, at the same time, bring children to school. Since 2000, Akshaya Patra has worked towards reaching out to children with wholesome food every single school day. The Foundation is continuously leveraging technology to cater to millions of children. Its state-of-the-art kitchens have become a subject of study and attract curious visitors from around the world.

In partnership with the Government of India and various State Governments and the inestimable support of many philanthropic donors and well-wishers, Akshaya Patra has grown from humble beginnings serving just 1,500 school children across five schools to becoming the world’s largest (not-for-profit run) mid-day meal programme, serving wholesome food to over 1.8 million children from 19,039 schools [as of March 2020] across 14 states and two union territory in India.