Free food for Students in Gujarat

Akshaya Patra Foundation - a noble institution -- well worth contributing to ....

 Looks like what Gujrat is doing TODAY india will do tomorrow. 

Let's dream one day soon  there will be no one remains hungry in India!!!!! 

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel today opened the 23rd centralized transparent modern kitchen of Akshay Patra Foundation at Bhadaj village near Gandhinagar, with a view to serving hot, nutritious mid-day nearby anganwadis. She then herself served food to the toddlers.

Anandiben Patel today appealed voluntary organizations to free Gujarat from malnutrition, live up to tradition of serving food to the hungry.

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel said there is a long tradition of providing food to the hungry in India. She called upon the affluent class, corporate houses and philanthropists donating money for temples and religious places to spend money on social causes too, like modern kitchens to make Gujarat more progressive, educated, cultured, healthy, clean and green. She said the modern mid-day meal scheme has helped check dropout rates in schools.

The Chief Minister said that the State Government’s another campaign is to provide toilet facility in every home in Gujarat over the next three years. She listed the budgetary allocations on toilet and its benefits.

She lauded the efforts of the foundation established in 2007. She said the state government is planning to start quality mid-day meal scheme in collaboration with Akshay Patra Foundation in Bhavnagar and Jamnagar cities and in the districts.

She said, “I strongly believe the mid-day meal from The Akshaya Patra Foundation will fulfill the goal of making Gujarat free of malnutrition. I hope the healthy and nutritious food provided to children from Akshaya Patra will build healthy minds and body. The Gujarat government is eager to support Akshaya Patra’s activities to build a strong society and a strong nation. I wish success to all the people working in the new centralized kitchen of The Akshaya Patra Foundation.”

The Akshay Patra kitchen has been built by the foundation at a cost of Rs.15-crore on a two-acre plot donated by the Chimanlal Agrawal family.

The foundation’s chairman Madhu Pandit Das said that mid-day meal is being served to 4-lakh children in 1,666 government-run schools in Gujarat, including Vadodara and Surat, besides ten states.

Prominent among those present on the occasion included Ahmedabad Mayor Meenaxiben Patel, MPs, MLAs, donor’s family, social activists and invitees.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation adds:

The 3-storey kitchen, the largest in the country is conducted on a gravity flow system. It is fully equipped to cook 2 lakh meals in less than 5 hours. The kitchen, which is no less than a food-factory features an indigenously designed roti-making machine which rolls out 60,000 rotis in just 1 hour.

It also includes boilers, rice cleaning machines, cold storage, custom-made utensils, and conveyor belts, along with packing and distribution facilities.

The food will be transported to schools using custom-designed, heat-insulated and dust-free vehicles to retain the freshness of meals. The 44 distribution vehicles will transport hot and nutritious meals from the centralized kitchen to more than 1.3 lakh children in 666 government schools every day.

Every day about 4.5 tons of rice, 8 tons of vegetable and 3 tons of dal will be cooked. Keeping in mind the taste-buds of little children, the Ahmedabad kitchen will also churn out wheat-based bakery products, cookies for the government school children from its in-house bakery.

The inauguration of the Ahmedabad centralized kitchen in Bhadaj, the 3rd kitchen in Ahmedabad by the Honourable Chief Minister of in Gujarat was presided by Shri  Madhu Pandit Das, Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation.

Expressing his gratitude, Shri Madhu Pandit Das, Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation said, “Feeding millions of children every day, with the pressing need to expand, excel and enhance our programme is a challenging task. We are thankful to the Government of Gujarat for giving us the opportunity to serve the children of Ahmedabad. We also thank our donors who have contributed and re-dedicate ourselves to reach our goal of feeding 5 million children by 2020.”

The Hans Foundation, which is the Principal Donor,has supported the capex, equipment and vehicles for this modern centralized kitchen.

“Mid-day meals act as stimulus for children to come to school and continue their education. It provides necessary nutrients for the physical and mental growth of a child. The Hans Foundation’s mandate is to support and strengthen resources that will improve the quality of a student’s life.

“We are happy to extend support to The Akshaya Patra Foundation in this noble endeavour,” said Sweta Rawat, Managing Director, The Hans Foundation.

The kitchen is co-sponsored by Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, (GSPC). ShriChimanlalAgrawal & family and Shri Nandlal Agrawal& family have donated the land on which this kitchen has been built in Bhadaj, Ahmedabad.