Akshaya Patra Breaks Ground for New Kitchen Outside Hyderabad

AkshayPatra-in-1

Children eating Akshaya Patra meal in Hyderabad

STONEHAM, MA: On August 11, the Akshaya Patra Foundation held a foundation stone laying ceremony on 1.5 acres of land in Narsingi outside Hyderabad.  The kitchen was made possible with a grant from the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.

The foundation anticipates that the kitchen will begin to serve its first meals to 30,000 government school children in Gandipet, Kokapet, and Poppalguda.  “By providing nutritious food, we are not only supporting the children’s education but also making the child a capable citizen who can contribute to the country. We are trying to bridge the gap between rich and poor”, said Akshaya Patra Chairman, Madhu Pandit Dasa.

The new kitchen will be the 26th of Akshaya Patra’s state-of-the-art centralized kitchens, which are the hallmark of the program. Akshaya Patra’s founders used their own knowledge of engineering to design immense mechanized kitchen facilities each capable of preparing meals for 100,000 children every day.  Akshaya Patra’s custom chapatti machines can bake 60,000 chapattis in five hours and easy-tilt cauldrons can produce 1,200 liters of rice or sambar in just two hours.

AkshayPatra-in-2

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor

These technological innovations optimize quality and minimize cost, time and labor to ensure that the meals prepared are safe, fresh, and nutritious. All of Akshaya Patra’s kitchens meet the highest standards of safety and efficiency, and ten of Akshaya Patra’s kitchens have already been certified as FSMS ISO 22000:2005 compliant, which means they meet the standards of the International Food Safety Management System (FSMS).  The International Organization for Standardization established the ISO 22000 certification to ensure the safety of the global food supply chain.

Established in 2000, Akshaya Patra began by serving 1,500 in 5 schools in Bangalore. Today Akshaya Patra is the largest NGO-run school meal programs in the world and serves over 1.5 million children daily in over 11,501 schools through 24 kitchens in ten states in India.  In 2016, Akshaya Patra is celebrating its 15th Anniversary and the serving of its 2 billionth meal to children in India.  Akshaya Patra USA is the US branch of Akshaya Patra and raises funds and awareness for the school meal program in India.

AkshayPatra-in-3

Omi Vaidya

Akshaya Patra USA’s Houston Chapter will hold its 2016 Houston Benefit Event on Friday, October 7th at the Sugar Land Marriott Town Square. Chef Sanjeev Kapoor will be the event’s keynote speaker for the event. Actor and comedian, Omi Vaidya will be the Master of Ceremonies. The event will be held at the Marriott in Sugar Land, Texas, and will begin with a welcome reception. Over 350 business, non-profit, government, and philanthropic leaders from around the region are expected to attend and support the organization’s dual mission of addressing childhood hunger and malnutrition and to promote education for underserved children in India.

For more information about Akshaya Patra, please visit www.foodforeducation.org.

This year’s event will feature an evening of networking, entertainment, and dinner.

For more information: Manisha@apusa.org or 832-876-2142

To register: Piyali@apusa.org or 781-462-8454

To register or purchase tickets: www.foodforeducation.org/houston