STONEHAM, MA–Akshaya Patra, the world’s largest NGO-run school meal program that provides school meals to 1.5 million children in 11,501 schools across India, announced that its 2016 Annual Boston Gala has been sold out. Those interested in attending the event can contact Piyali Dutta at 781-438-3090 x 4 to join a wait list.
Akshaya Patra USA is holding its 2016 Annual Boston Gala on Sunday, May 1st at 5:00 PM at the Boston Marriott Newton Hotel in Newton, MA. The event will feature Dr. Atul Gawande, New York Times best-selling author and surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Dr. Gawande has written four New York Times best sellers: Complications, Better, The Checklist Manifesto and Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End. Comedian and actor Omi Vaidya will serve as the event’s Master of Ceremonies.
Akshaya Patra also announced that the Government of Uttar Pradesh will support Akshaya Patra expand its meal program to children in Uttar Pradesh.
Child malnutrition is a significant problem in Uttar Pradesh. The State Nutrition Mission found that 4 out of every ten children in Uttar Pradesh are malnourished. Among children under the age of five 7.5 million children are underweight and 9.3 million children are stunted. Undernourishment of pregnant women is also a significant concern. The Nutrition Mission found that 2 out of every 10 infants are born with a birth weight under 5.5 lbs due to undernourishment of their mothers during pregnancy.
To address these problems, the Government of Uttar Pradesh is providing new funding to support the expansion of Akshaya Patra Foundation meal assistance to thousands of additional Anganwadi centers across the state. An Anganwadi is a center where government health and nutrition services are delivered to pregnant women, lactating mothers, infants, and toddlers. With the support of the government of Uttar Pradesh, Akshaya Patra will expand to provide meals to an additional 260,000 children at Anganwadi centers in Uttar Pradesh.
The government of Uttar Pradesh and nine other Indian states work with the Akshaya Patra Foundation to provide essential nutritional support to schoolchildren, and the children and mothers who receive services at Anganwadi centers. Akshaya Patra has been a crucial non-profit partner of state governments; its internationally-recognized model has the capacity to serve over a million people.
Akshaya Patra produces fresh, nutritious meals to government schools and Anganwadi centers from state-of-the-art centralized kitchens. 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.
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.
Akshaya Patra USA is the US branch of Akshaya Patra and raises funds and awareness for the school meal program in India.
Desh Deshpande is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Akshaya Patra USA and Emily Rosenbaum is the CEO. Akshaya Patra provides school meals to 1.5 million children in 11,501 schools across India. Akshaya Patra also supports the nutrition programs of 2,594 Anganwadi centers in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh, providing meals to over 152,041 children.
UP Government to Support Akshaya Patra Expand its Meal Program to Children
