Our Partner

The Akshaya Patra Foundation runs the largest NGO-operated school meal programme in the world. Established in Bengaluru in 2000 as a charitable trust under the Indian Trusts Act, it takes its name from the vessel in the Mahabharata that never empties, and began by feeding 1,500 children across five government schools in the city. It now reaches over 2.35 million beneficiaries in more than 25,768 schools and Anganwadi centres, from a network of kitchens spanning 78 locations across 16 states and 3 union territories. The Foundation operates as an implementing partner for the Government of India's PM POSHAN initiative, formerly the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. Its central innovation is architectural: because most government schools have no kitchen of their own, its founders — several of them engineers — built large centralised kitchens that cook for clusters of surrounding schools and distribute by insulated vehicle. A centralised unit can produce up to a lakh of meals a day; where terrain makes one impractical, the Foundation runs a decentralised model operated by women's self-help groups under its supervision. 

Hunger is one of the most direct barriers to education in India. Children stay out of school, attend unable to concentrate, or are sent to work instead; a hot meal at midday addresses classroom hunger, improves concentration, and gives families a reason to send children to school rather than to work — work that sits directly across two Sustainable Development Goals, Zero Hunger and Quality Education. We are honored to partner with Akshaya Patra for this initiative, to both contribute to their mission, and more importantly, learn from their incredible expertise in the development sector.