How Does Akshaya Patra Work in Uttar Pradesh?

There are many NGOs in India that work for various causes like education of children, healthcare for children and elderly, old age homes, child rights, women empowerment, wildlife conservation, mid-day meals of children and many more. Every state, every region and every town or city has numerous NGOs that work towards various causes.

One such NGO is The Akshaya Patra Foundation that works towards the cause of ‘Food for Education’ of children. It was started in the year 2000 and fed mid-day meals to 1,500 children. As of today, it feeds 18,02,517 children studying in 16,856 Government and Government-aided schools. It is spread across 51 locations in 12 States and 2 Union Territories of India, namely – Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Daman & DNH, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.

As an NGO in Uttar Pradesh, Akshaya Patra feeds a total of 2,24,288 children in 3,341 schools. Meals are prepared fresh in the 4 Centralised kitchens located in Math, Vrindavan, Lucknow and Gorakhpur. Locally palatable meals are served to children in a cyclical order so that there is a variation in the variety of food. No matter what the menu of the month is, it is packed with nutrition and energy.

The menu items served as part of mid-day meals in Uttar Pradesh are Tahari, Jeera rice, Kheer, Matar soy paneer sabji, Aloo Rajma, Vegetable Pulao and many more. All the ingredients used in the school meals help children focus better in the class and increase their attention span.

Help more children with your donation

Your support is required at every stage to achieve various milestones. Starting from taking care of their health, laying down their career and helping them achieve their goals in life; it all depends upon your donation. The NGO works with various partners, donors and volunteers to expand its reach. Your generosity can change their lives for the better. You can do your bit by:

• Donating online. You can donate as much as you wish, the children will be grateful for your support
• Conducting an online fundraising campaign in your business circle with your colleagues, your community members or partners
• Becoming an online ambassador and spreading the word about the Foundation in your social media circle
• Choosing to show your support by being a part of the Volunteering opportunities

 

Your generosity is much appreciated.

Your donations for school meals empowers aspirations!

The impact of mid-day meal in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state of India. And, it is reported that over the next 10 years, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar will together account for 31% of youngest Indian population between five and 14 years. This indicates that education and health will play deciding factors for them to turn into assets for the country. As per the Census 2011, the literacy rate of Uttar Pradesh is just 67.7%. Among the many factors that affect school enrolment and literacy rate is the provision of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. The Supreme Court mandated Mid-Day Meal Scheme was introduced in the state in September 2004. And, currently this scheme covers over 123.57-lakh students in 1,14,125 primary schools and 54.94-lakh students in 54,394 upper primary schools in the state. Over the years, the state has observed tangible impact of the scheme in school enrolment, attendance, and health of the students. And, this impact was furthered by The Akshaya Patra Foundation, and NGO in Lucknow.

In Uttar Pradesh, Akshaya Patra provides mid-day meal in two locations – Vrindavan and Lucknow. The NGO began its journey of providing mid-day meal in Uttar Pradesh by establishing the Vrindavan kitchen in August 2004. Currently, 1,20,262 children in 2,010 schools get benefitted from this kitchen. The kitchen at Lucknow was established in March 2015 and presently provides mid-day meal to 91,418 children in 1,011 schools. Keeping hygiene and cleanliness as our topmost priorities while preparing mid-day meals for children, both the kitchens in Uttar Pradesh are ISO 22000:2005 certified. The mid-day meals served in Uttar Pradesh follow a local palate inclusive of roti with subzi, so that maximum children readily and joyfully eat their school lunch.

As part of self-assessment of the Mid-Day Meal Programme, Akshaya Patra time and again conducts third party assessments. One such assessment was conducted by Sigma Research and Consulting Pvt. Ltd. in 2014. The report studied eight location of Akshaya Patra based on the variables pertaining to four main objectives: elimination of classroom hunger, social equity, nutrition and health, and enrolment, retention and attendance. The assessment showed a positive trend on all the variables and the overall score of Uttar Pradesh was 9.43 on a scale of 10. This reveals that while there is significant impact of the mid-day meal in Uttar Pradesh, there is also scope for creating more impact.

Currently, Akshaya Patra is providing nutritious school lunch to 2,11,680 children in 3,021 schools in Uttar Pradesh. This means each day millions of children are able to attend school and take steps towards their aspirations. You too can act as a catalyst by choosing to sponsor a child. Come forward and join the ‘unlimited food for education’ motto of this NGO in Lucknow.

How NGO’s in Uttar Pradesh is Ensuring Children’s Development?

Educating children and ensuring they remain healthy in the region has been an important goal for NGOs working across the world. Many NGOs in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar are working on the similar lines. This helps in increasing the awareness level of children. Many NGO’s in Lucknow are working towards ensuring that the children get quality food and education.

Therefore, NGOs like The Akshaya Patra Foundation are reaching out to children in schools of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh among other states. The foundation is serving wholesome meals to school children. The NGO has a state-of-the-art kitchen in Lucknow from where mid-day meals are supplied to various Government and Government-aided schools in Uttar Pradesh.

This has a deeper implication. When children are motivated to attend schools, they develop dreams and aspirations of a career. Education opens up various subjects and avenues. As a result, children learn about their own inclination towards certain subjects. This in turn helps them to take steps towards a fruitful career in the subject they like.

When the NGO in Uttar Pradesh reaches out to school children, it becomes a part of the children’s growth. Children attending schools regularly discover the charms of science, language, politics, geography or humanities. This encourages them to explore their interests. The foundation laid during the younger days forms is important as that helps the children pick their career choices. The Stories of Hope demonstrate how children relish the opportunities of a great career.

NGOs like Akshaya Patra are taking these aspirations to far-off schools in and around Lucknow. These are areas where access to information is often limited. And so when children are exposed to regular dose of education and knowledge, they heartily appreciate it. The NGO thus calls for donors to sponsor a child and pave a career path for him/her. When donors choose to sponsor a child, they become part of his/her growth and become instrumental in his career development. You can contribute and help these children realise their life’s goals. Sponsor a child today.

How is this NGO in Uttar Pradesh reducing school dropout rate

Akshaya Patra, an NGO in Uttar Pradesh, has been serving mid-day meals to children from its two kitchens in Lucknow and Vrindavan. The experience has been such that the schools which are benefiting from the initiative are experiencing better attendance than before. Apart from Uttar Pradesh, similar results have been observed in other states where the NGO runs its Mid-day Meal Programme.

This NGO in Uttar Pradesh is currently serving meals to 2,11,680 children alone. This charity for children is now changing the way parents there look at education.

One of the most thickly populated states in India, Uttar Pradesh, houses several children who drop out of schools, either due to parental pressure or because of the need to earn their own meals. The only way to retain these children in school is by serving mid-day meals on a daily basis. The charity for children – Akshaya Patra – aims at opening 11 new kitchens in the state in districts of Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Agra, Allahbad, Kanpur, Etawah, Kannauj, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Rampur and Ballia. As a result, this charity would serve 1.3 million children as part of its mid-day meal programme in Uttar Pradesh.

The kitchens run by this NGO are state-of-the-art when it comes to the quality and volume of cooking happening on a daily basis. Hygiene and nutrition are the two most important criteria of cooking here apart from timely delivery of meals.

You can help this charity for children continue serving meals to children with your contributions.

Feeding children with nutritious mid-day meals in Uttar Pradesh

Jacques Diouf once said – hunger is not an issue of charity, it is an issue of justice.

Feeding the hungry, therefore, cannot be a one-time job or a temporary charity. It needs to be a mission of a lifetime till this social evil is completely erased. Akshaya Patra is an NGO that’s currently serving mid-day meals alongside the government in various schools around the country as an attempt to feed the hungry.

Apart from other parts of India, the NGO is serving mid-day meal in Uttar Pradesh in two cities – Lucknow and Vrindavan. The NGO has ISO-certified centralised kitchens in Lucknow and Vrindavan that are able to serve a total of 2,11,680 children.

Due to these mid-day meals, the NGO is not only able to feed the hungry in Uttar Pradesh but also bring school children back to studies. The NGO’s mid-day meal menu has been modified as per the local palate of Lucknow and Vrindavan. Akshaya Patra serves roti with locally cooked vegetables in Uttar Pradesh as against its South Indian palate. The centralised kitchens that are serving these meals take utmost care in parameters such as nutrition, hygiene, quantity of food etc. This ensures that the children don’t just get a meal but are able to truly enjoy a healthy diet every school day.

The government schools that are benefitted by the NGO in Uttar Pradesh have testified a rise in school attendance due to the serving of mid-day meals. Akshaya Patra has made it its mission to feed the hungry and bring children back to school by combining the two causes intelligently.

The NGO needs more contributors in order to expand its reach in more cities in Uttar Pradesh. You can sponsor a child today.

Akshaya Patra – Blazing a trail in Uttar Pradesh to eradicate hunger

One school meal a day has the power to fuel the educational pursuits of India’s children. It eliminates classroom hunger, keeps them in school and helps them concentrate better. The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an NGO in Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), helps the cause of ‘food for education’ through its Mid-Day Meal Programme. It works in partnership with State and Central governments in India and feeds its nutritious mid-day meals to over 1.6 million school children in 11 states across India. These meals are cooked in state-of-the-art ISO-certified centralised kitchens that strictly adhere to hygiene standards.

The Foundation is now taking a big leap in expanding its footprint throughout the country, especially in U.P. In December 2016, as an NGO in Uttar Pradesh, Akshaya Patra laid major expansion plans in the state. The state will witness the launch of 11 new kitchens in the districts of Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Agra, Allahabad, Kanpur, Etawah, Kannauj, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Rampur and Ballia. The groundbreaking ceremony for the same was performed by Akhilesh Yadav, former Chief Minister of U.P, at Lok Bhavan, New Secretariat, Lucknow, on December 26, 2016. With the addition of these new kitchens, the Foundation’s reach will expand to 13 lakh beneficiaries in U.P. from 2,11,680 children it is presently feeding, benefitting 10,88,320 more children, starting the next academic year.

Taking its mid-day meals in Uttar Pradesh to a larger number of children will bring Akshaya Patra closer to its vision of ensuring that no child is deprived of education due to hunger. To feed millions more children in India and aid their quest for education via a nutritious school lunch, the Foundation needs the support of all the individuals committed to eradicating classroom hunger. Join Akshaya Patra in nourishing the health and furthering the education of India’s future by making a charity donation towards it.