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7.2 Swacch Bharat, Swacch Vidyalaya, Swacch Gruha
MEALS AND BEYOND
7.1 Millets implementation
Akshaya Patra strongly believes that the Mid-Day Meal provided should not only comply
with the RDA but should also ensure the delivery of nutrition that makes an impact on
the lives of our beneficiaries. The idea behind incorporation of millets like Ragi, Jowar,
Bajra etc. is to ensure that our beneficiaries are getting a balanced and nutritionally
enhanced meal. Keeping this in view, Akshaya Patra in collaboration with ICRISAT & the
Government of Karnataka has undertaken a millet based supplementation trial that will
be implemented from the 8th of January in few schools in Bangalore.
The aim is to promote Smart Foods that are high in nutrition and locally produced.
Serving a millet based fare to children will not only enhance the nutritive value of the
existing meal by using the locally available raw produce but will also bring Akshaya
Patra’s menu closer to the regional palette of our beneficiary children. The millet
pilot project is intended to leverage the cooperation from pioneers, industry experts
and institutions like ICRISAT, IIMR for continuous technical guidance and support on
validation of activities/results.
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In pursuance of the aspiration of Mahatma Gandhi for a clean India, and in response to the call
of the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi; The Akshaya Patra Foundation
initiated the ‘Swacch Vidyarthi, Swacch Vidyalaya, Swacch Gruha’ to achieve Swacch Bharat on
Oct 2, 2017 at the HK Hill campus of ISKCON Bangalore.
Shri R. Ashok – Former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka and Ms Sanjjanaa Galrani –
renowned multilingual actress, record holder in the Limca Book of Records and south India’s
Yoga brand ambassador, and Ms Sushruthi Krishna - Femina Miss India, first runner up 2016
were present at the occasion to extend their support.
Through ‘Swacch Vidyarthi, Swacch Vidyalaya, Swacch Gruha’ initiative, the Foundation will
strive to inculcate a culture of personal hygiene and cleanliness in a systematic manner over
the next one year. This initiative will be carried out in 13,839 Government and Government-
aided schools in 12 states of India, where Akshaya Patra is serving hot and nutritious mid–day
meal to 1.66 million children. The Foundation aspires to reach out to more than 5 million people
in support of the Clean India initiative. As a pilot project, Akshaya Patra also plans to adopt
about 100 government schools, and contribute to the implementation of the Swacch Vidyalaya
programme
7.3 School and Student Transformation
In 2015, the Foundation introduced a mentorship programme, Giving Every Dream a Chance.
The idea was, now that these children have overcome the limitations of hunger, they can focus
on their dreams. The initiative intends to provide children a platform to nurture and showcase
their talents, thus empowering them to overcome adversity and flourish in a fast changing
world. After successfully completing the pilot in Bengaluru in 2016, the Foundation plans to
take this project to Mangalore, Mysore, Hyderabad, and Vishakapatnam in 2017-18.
In addition, as a part of its Model School Initiative, the Foundation intends to identify 100
beneficiary schools to undergo transformation. The organisation will partner with professional
experts from the related field to implement the necessary changes and ensure a process for a
sustainable development in school education system.
We would love to hear from you. Please share your feedback on
varada.vaidya@akshayapatra.org
jeetabarta.mangang@akshayapatra.org
ajay.kavishwar@akshayapatra.org
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