Akshaya Patra Foundation

The Akshaya Patra Foundation
Founded2000
TypeNon profit organisation
Location
ProductsMid Day Meals
Websitehttp://www.akshayapatra.org/

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an independent charitable trust[1] registered under the Indian Trusts Act 1882 (Reg. No. 154). Headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, the NGO serves as the implementing partner of the Government of India's flagship PM POSHAN Abhiyaan,[2] a school meal programme designed to improve the nutritional status of school-aged children nationwide. It was earlier known as the 'National Programme for Mid-Day Meal in Schools', popularly known as the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme.[3]

Akshaya Patra is the largest NGO partner of the Government of India to implement the PM POSHAN Abhiyaan in government-run schools in India, a collaboration based on the public-private partnership (PPP) model. It is also one of the largest NGO-run school feeding programmes in the world.

Since its inception, Akshaya Patra has cumulatively served over 4 billion meals.[3]

History

Akshaya Patra began in 2000, serving mid-day meals in five schools in Bengaluru, Karnataka, containing 1,500 children.[4] The organization identifies its mission as not having children miss education due to hunger with the vision that no child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger.

When the Government of India's Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme (now known as the PM POSHAN Abhiyaan) was launched in 2001, Akshaya Patra collaborated with various levels of governments in its implementation.[5]

Programmes

The Foundation serves over 2.25 million children through kitchens in 78 locations in 16 states and 3 UTs: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.[6]

In Vadodara and Surat in Gujarat, Ongole in Andhra Pradesh and Warangal in Telangana, Akshaya Patra implements the Anganwadi feeding programme to provide food to children in the age group of 3-6 in Anganwadis and pregnant women and lactating mothers in the area. As of 2014, 54,000 children and women were covered by the programme.[7]

In addition to school feeding, Akshaya Patra also runs a programme to feed homeless women living in ashrams in Vrindavan,[8] and has provided food to affected people during natural disasters,[9] including the COVID-19 Pandemic. During the pandemic, it served around 250 million meals.[10]

Akshaya Patra's kitchens have been a subject of study for the Harvard Business School on two occasions: 2007[11] and 2017.[12]

Awards

  1. Gandhi Peace Prize 2016 for its contribution towards the socioeconomic development of India by providing mid-day meals to millions of children across the country.[13][14]
  2. Nikkei Asia Prize in the Economic and Business Innovation Category for supporting education by nourishing children, thus playing a pivotal role in the socioeconomic development of the region.[15]
  3. Outlook POSHAN Special Jury Award 2019 for its valuable contribution in the Urban Nutrition (Institution) category.[16]
  4. BBC Global Food Champion Award 2019 for its contribution to implementing the school feeding programme.[17]
  5. Akshaya Patra has been awarded the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) Gold Shield for Excellence in Financial Reporting on seven occasions. It has been inducted into the ICAI Hall of Fame for winning the Gold Shield for five years in a row from FY 2008-09 to FY 2012-13.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Akshaya Patra: Improving Education, One Meal at a Time". knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu.
  2. ^ "Partnership for Progress: The Akshaya Patra Foundation and Round Table India Unite for Philanthropy". ANI News. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Akshaya Patra's 4 billion meals milestone commemorated at the UN". The Hindu. 5 April 2024.
  4. ^ Nilanjana, Bhowmick. "In India, the World's Largest School Lunch Program". TIME. Archived from the original on 12 June 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  5. ^ "Siliconeer | Prime Minister Modi Serves Akshaya Patra's 3 Billionth Meal | Siliconeer". siliconeer.com. 9 March 2019.
  6. ^ "The Akshaya Patra Foundation serves 77 million meals across India during this Global Pandemic Covid-19 – India Education | Latest Education News | Global Educational News | Recent Educational News".
  7. ^ "A New Approach to Fighting Child Malnutrition in India". 27 July 2014.
  8. ^ "NGO achieves landmark figure in serving mid-day meals". The Hindu. 19 August 2011.
  9. ^ "Akshaya Patra serves meals to quake victims". The Times of India. 23 June 2015.
  10. ^ Upadhyay, Aishwarya (17 July 2020). "With Over 7 Crore Meals, Akshaya Patra Foundation Is Reaching Out To The Most Vulnerable Amid The COVID-19 Pandemic". www.swachhindia.ndtv.com. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  11. ^ "Akshaya Patra: Feeding India's Schoolchildren - Case - Faculty & Research - Harvard Business School".
  12. ^ "Akshaya Patra: Impact at Scale - Case - Faculty & Research - Harvard Business School".
  13. ^ "GANDHI PEACE PRIZE-2015 AWARDED TO VIVEKANDANDA KENDRA, INDIA" (PDF). www.indiaculture.gov.in. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  14. ^ "Gandhi Peace Prize for 2015,2016,2017 and 2018 announced".
  15. ^ "Past Winners | Nikkei Asia Award : Nikkei Inc".
  16. ^ "Meet the Winners of the Inaugural Outlook Poshan Awards 2019". YouTube. 4 August 2019.
  17. ^ "BBC World Service - the Food Chain - the Food Chain Global Champion Award 2019 winner: Akshaya Patra".
  18. ^ "The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been awarded the Gold Shield and Hall of Fame by the ICAI (The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the year 2012-13 under the Category XI- Not-for-Profit Sector". The Times of India. 8 February 2014.
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