Akshaya Patra Honored by CNBC, Limca
By Praveena Lakshmanan
Last updated: Feb 21, 2009

The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been awarded the 2008 India Business Leader Award for Social Enterprise of the Year from CNBC –TV in India. Akshaya Patra has also been recognized by the Limca Book of World Records.

Now in its fourth year, CNBC chooses the Business Leader Award winners through an extensive threestage vetting process. A short-list is created in the first stage using quantitative techniques.

The second stage involves a poll of peer-groups, senior management executives from corporations and CNBC-TV18 viewers. A jury of top business leaders selects the winners in the third stage. This year’s jury included Mukesh Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Deepak Parekh, R. Seshasayee, Jagdish Khattar and Raghav Bahl. CNBC awards similar business leader awards in 12 other countries. “This award is another confirmation of what many of us already know - that Akshaya Patra’s is a truly inspiring, global model of innovation, efficiency and functionality,” said Madhu Sridhar, Akshaya Patra USA’s President and CEO. “We are overjoyed by this honor, and thank CNBC for recognizing Akshaya Patra’s vision and potential in the years to come.”

Akshaya Patra was also recognized by the Limca Book of Records for being the world’s largest non-government midday meal program. The Limca Book of Records is the Indian equivalent of the Guinness Book of World Records. Limca is the only book of its kind in India and was first published in 1990. “The entry into the Limca book of records comes as a recognition of Akshaya Patra’s achievement in enabling needy children to receive education even as they are fed at least one wholesome meal a day,” said Madhu Pandita Das, the Chairman of Akshaya Patra in India.

“Today we stand much closer to our goal of feeding one million children by the end of this decade.” Akshaya Patra simultaneously address twin challenges facing India – malnutrition/ hunger and lack of access to education among children. The first Akshaya Patra temporary kitchen was started in 2000 in Bangalore. It has grown exponentially in the last eight years from feeding 1,500 children daily in five schools to currently distributing freshly cooked healthy meals daily to over 966,000 underserved children in close to 5,600 government schools through 16 kitchens in six states in India. This makes Akshaya Patra the largest NGO run school feeding program in the world. For many children this is their only complete meal for the day. The US office was established in June, 2006.

Madhu Sridhar says Akshaya Patra USA wants to build a strong grassroots organization with broad based support and raise awareness and funds in the US to support the program in India. “We will be seeking funds from individuals, corporations and foundations. The goal is to create a support base by educating and informing the public in the US and beyond about the challenges of hunger and education facing underserved children in India and sharing the proven track record and scalable solution that Akshaya Patra has to offer.”

She adds, Akshaya Patra USA aims to facilitate relationships between the organization and the donor community in the US, aid in developing a long-term plan for financial support and globally expand awareness of the organization, its innovative and replicable school feeding model and the needs its addresses.

“ I invite you to be part of our efforts to build a more just world that bridges the divide between the haves and the have-nots. I call upon the compassion, energy, and generosity of each of you to make a sustained commitment to eradicate hunger and promote education one child at a time.” says Madhu Sridhar.

Dr. K.T. Shah, Founder of Akshaya Patra’s Houston Volunteer Chapter, started the chapter in 2007 and has been working towards creating awareness since then. He says, “ I personally visited the Akshaya Patra kitchens during my visit to India and was thoroughly impressed by the system followed for the distribution of food and also the efforts put by selfless, well- educated and dedicated individuals”.

He adds, the organization simultaneously addresses the twin challenges facing India, that is education and hunger among underserved children. It an innovative model that leverages technology to provide nutritious meals on a large scale at a low cost. It costs $28 to feed a child for the entire school year.’ The Houston chapter’s goal for this year is to raise awareness among the community. He says, there are many ways the community can get involved with Akshaya Patra.

Individuals can volunteer for the varius activities that Akshaya Patra paticipates/holds from time to time throughout the year. They can also have their children get involved in the Kids-for-Kids program, visit one of the kitchens when in India, become a corporate sponsor, have your company start a matching gift program, etc.