The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a
non-profit trust of
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), located in
Bangalore,
Karnataka,
India. The organisation operates the
Midday Meal Scheme (a
school lunch programme) in India.
Mid Day Meal program
Akshaya Patra is the largest partner of the Union Government of India to implement the Mid Day Meal scheme in the government run schools of India. The scheme is based on a public-private partnership.
Organisation
APF is run by
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Bangalore. The organisation was established in 2000.
Irregularities in the foundation's workings
In 2020, four of the independent trustees of APF resigned alleging misuse of funds of the foundation and governance issues in the APF.
#Former Infosys leader T.V. Mohandas Pai;
#advisor to Manipal education and medical group Abhay Jain;
#former Infosys CFO V Balakrishnan and
#co-founder of ChrysCapital Raj P. Kondur
These trustees had alleged that the chairman of APF, Madhu Pandit Dasa, and his supporters on the board were targeting the audit committee that was looking into the allegations of the misuse of funds. According to the trustees, the chairman and his supporters were doing this to resist transparency. In the years around 2020, the cost of a meal that APF provided had shot up by at least 5₹ in comparison to the other NGOs. This increase in cost was being investigated.
Other initiatives
The Akshaya Patra kitchens produce about 350 kilograms of
organic
Organic may refer to:
* Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity
* Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ
Chemistry
* Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...
waste each day.
To reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, the foundation has set up
biogas plants in some of its kitchens. This initiative started with the centralized kitchens at
Bellary and
Vasanthapura (Bengaluru) on
Earth Day
Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...
(April 22) 2016
and now extends to six kitchens across the country. The
biogas plants, with a capacity to process 1 tonne per day (TPD) of organic waste, generate 120 to 150 m
3 of biogas the equivalent of 30 kilograms of
LPG. This gas is consumed in the kitchen's cooking operations and saves APF
INR 38,500 per month.
This translates to savings of about 10% in total energy consumption required for cooking.
APF has installed of
solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at some of its kitchens. Based on the weather these systems produce 80-100 units of electricity per day and this power's the facility's daytime energy requirement e.g. the
Bengaluru
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
plant generates 10 kW of power and this is entirely consumed by the facility, whereas the
Surat
Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...
plant generates 12 kW of power with some of the surplus power being fed back to the grid for a credit.
After the COVID-19 lockdown was announced, Akshaypatra began a food program to feed the migrant workers. They provided cooked food as well as dry grocery kits
Awards
*In 2019, APF received the BBC’s Global Food Champion Award.
See also
*
Malnutrition in India
*
List of Indian states by child nutrition
Child nutrition in India is a serious problem for the public administration. However India is on course to meet select child nutrition targets such as the target for stunting. In 2019, according to UNICEF report, malnutrition is the cause of ...
References
External links
The Akshaya Patra Foundation- Official Website
Akshaya Patra: A Leader in Battling Classroom Hunger- A case-study on Akshayapatra
{{Authority control
Organizations established in 2000
Educational organisations based in India
Children's charities based in India
Organisations based in Bangalore
Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 2003
Winners of the Nikkei Asia Prize
Recipients of the Gandhi Peace Prize
2000 establishments in Karnataka