THE AKSHAYA PATRA FOUNDATION

H. K. Hill, Chord Road, Bangalore-560 010, India

Ph: 91-80-2357 8622, 2347 1956 Fax: 91-80-2357 8626

E-mail: infodesk@akshayapatra.org

Website: www.akshayapatra.org

A strategic mid-day meal program to promote literacy among underprivileged children.

JULY 2006

(NEWS & VIEWS)

The Akshaya Patra Activity UpdateJune 2000 marked the beginning of the Akshaya Patra feeding program with just 1,500 children in one city, Bangalore. Six years later, in June 2006, the Akshaya Patra program is feeding 448,997 underprivileged children in 10 locations, and is today one of the largest social sector initiatives in the country.

The program has grown leaps and bounds and now includes other allied activities such as educational initiatives, medical intervention and distribution of clothes. Akshaya Patra is evolving into a holistic child development program.

The last quarter has been particularly eventful with the addition of three more locations under the program umbrella—Puri in Orissa, Nathdwara in Rajasthan and Bellary in Karnataka.

The outcome of a recent study conducted by A.C.Nielsen confirms that the program has positively impacted its beneficiaries—the underprivileged children—and vindicated our stance that a wholesome meal is the most powerful means of fostering literacy.

A detailed synopsis of the study has been presented on page 12

Continuous improvements in the infrastructure facilities to maximize

efficiency and reduce time, cost and labour and introduction of a slew of

quality control measures have showcased the Akshaya Patra program as

an operating model worth emulating. Which perhaps is the reason why

management students from the Harvard Business School, US, are taking

up the Akshaya Patra program as a case study.

Impressed by the concept and service delivery methods, many

distinguished visitors and dignitaries, both from India and overseas, have

visited the Akshaya Patra facility. Residents of Nandini Layout in

Bangalore organized a walkathon in support of Akshaya Patra to increase

awareness of the mid-day meal program.

The program continues to follow its vision of ensuring that no Indian child

is deprived of education for want of food. It has been adding more and

more beneficiaries, month after month.

Here is a location-wise summary of activities in the last three to four

months.

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Bangalore Hubli-Dharwad

An indicatory list of the visitors to theAkshaya Patra facility include, Larry Pressler, US Senator;Ranil Wickremasinghe, former Prime Minister, Sri Lanka;B.S Yediyurappa, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka; V.S.Kovje, Governor of Himachal Pradesh; T.N.Chaturvedi, Governor of Karnataka; Ashok Soota, CEO, MindTree Consulting; Nagendra K U Pradhan, School & Mass Education Minister, Orissa; Alexius Collette, CEO,Phillips Innovation Campus; Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India Ltd. and actors Feroz Khan, Ravi Chandran, etc.

Number of children being fed : 1,40,000Number of schools : 486Future Roadmap : To serve food to 1,50,000

children by end of the year and up to 200,000 children by 2007 end.

Number of children being fed : 1,32,297 Number of schools : 514

The Akshaya Patra program in Hubli-Dharwad owes its gratitude to philanthropists, Mrs. Sudha Murty of Infosys Foundation and Gururaj and J a y s h r e e D e s h p a n d e , w h o s e magnanimous contributions have not only ensured the continuity of the feeding activity but also enabled coverage of more children.

Since Bangalore is the headquarters for the Akshaya Patra operations, this facility is a beehive of activities. To start with, it was decided to offer wholesome meals to expectant and nursing mothers from the lower strata of society so that newborn babies can be protected against malnourishment. This activity started in associat ion with the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) and currently, nearly 2011 women are fed nutritious meals daily in the schools run by BMP where the Akshaya Patra feeding program is already underway.

The popularity of the mid-day meals in Hubli can be gauged from the fact that in the very first few months of this academic year, we have added 50,372 students.

To cope up with the additional load and also cater to future requirements, a new kitchen facility is coming up at Hubli and would become operational very soon.

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Number of children being fed : 9,000 Number of schools : 14

Bellary Bellary, situated on the eastern side of Karnataka state, is the newest addition to the Akshaya Patra umbrella. Although agriculture is the mainstay for livelihood, Bellary district is richly endowed with mineral resources, with abundant metallic minerals found in Sandur, Hospet and Bellary. However, it still carries the industrially backward tag. The literacy rate as per 1996 estimate was 51% in the district as compared to the overall Karnataka State literacy rate of 63%.

The socio economic conditions of the labour class leaves much to be desired, necessitating a strategic approach to bring its children into mainstream education. The Akshaya Patra Foundation, in partnership with the JSW Foundation and other mine owners, has pledged to promote literacy by providing wholesome meals to deprived children.

Having signed an MoU with Jindals, Akshaya Patra has commenced its feeding services in about 14 schools, cooking food in a makeshift kitchen in Toranagallu. Currently it is serving a three-item menu to about 7,500 children in Bellary taluka and another 1,500 in the neighbouring town of Ananthpur, Andhra Pradesh.

In the next couple of months, this number is expected to go up to 25,000 by including the Sandur taluka as well. A 5000 sq.ft temporary kitchen facility has come up on land provided by the Jindals. The daily menu includes either rice, sambhar and curds, or mixed rice with a dessert, or vegetable pulav with raita.

Shri Shriramalu, Minister of Tourism, State Government visited one of the schools and appreciated the quality of the food served.

Other major donors supporting the Bellary district feeding program are Satish of Y. Mahabaleshwarappa & Sons of Siddapura Iron Ore Mines, S.K. Modi & Manju Modi of Bellary Iron Ores Pvt. Ltd, Jija Madhavan Hari

Singh of Mysore Minerals Ltd and Gautam RadiaLimited who are all concerned about the plight of deprived children living in and around their mines and are keen to bring them into mainstream education. They have been large hearted and committed to the Bellary project.

As part of the baseline study on the impact of the mid-day meals program, Akshaya Patra has already started the clinical examination of children and is collecting appropriate data.

In the immediate future, the Foundation will begin construction of the fully automated permanent kitchen on a five acre land subleased to it by the Jindals.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is indebted to Dr Vinod Nowal, Executive Director(C), JSW Steel Limited, for energizing the mid-day meal program and leading its implementation.

of Tungabhadra Minerals

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Quest For Quality Investing In Children For DevelopmentSince the core activity of the Akshaya Patra Foundation is food service,

impeccable standards of quality and hygiene are mandatory. Preparing

food in large quantities on a daily basis and serving nutritious meals to

thousands of children, is a Herculean task and there cannot be any

weak link in the entire process, till the food is distributed to schools. To

ensure international standard quality, the Foundation is aiming for the

ISO 22000 certification, meant for food safety management system.

In its run-up to the approval process, the Foundation has chalked out

certain best practices in the Akshaya Patra kitchen infrastructure, the

main area of action. Some sample dos and don'ts for employees

include wearing gloves, hair nets and clean uniform, etc. Similarly there

are certain mandatory rules for visitors too.

Both water and food samples are also sent to an accredited lab for

micro-biological testing and analysis.

The Foundation has strengthened its quality control department with

more manpower and is also interacting with specialized Consultants for

added inputs.

Once the Bangalore plant wins the certification, the Foundation will

replicate the quality control measures in other locations too.

JSW Foundation, the philanthropic arm of JSW Steel Limited, is a non-government, rural development organization which supports the aspirations of its stakeholders, especially in the areas of education, healthcare, sports, culture and infrastructure facilities. Sangita Jindal, Chairperson, JSW Foundation, shares her vision and objectives with Akshaya Patra.

What is the inspiration for supporting the mid-day meal feeding program for the underprivileged children?

The future of the nation lies in the hands of our children for which, the youth have to be educated and intelligent. But poverty prevents parents from sending their children to school. If the Foundation can ensure that school-going children get wholesome and nutritious food, then half the battle against illiteracy and hunger is won. This is the primary reason that has inspired us to take up this noble cause. We do not see this as an expenditure but an investment for national development.

What do you hope to achieve?

JSW has strong fundamentals of Corporate Social Responsibility. We do not believe in creating a small island of prosperity for our employees. We want the ripple effects of our prosperity to spread to the villages around us.

Have you set aside any goal?

Our long term goal is to provide more avenues of income for those who live in the villages surrounding our industry. We will do our best to see that no school going child sleeps with an empty stomach. As more and more people come to know about this scheme, we are sure every child will attend school and Bellary district will become cent per cent literate.

In what way does this initiative match with JSW's vision of corporate social responsibility?

The mid-day meal scheme for needy children perfectly blends in with our vision of CSR. We are also developing schools, providing computers, building concrete roads, offering vocational skills, etc., to help them earn their livelihood besides employment for many in our factory.

Can you share your thoughts about the Akshaya Patra program?

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is truly doing a yeoman's service to the nation. The entire concept of centralized kitchen and rapid disbursement of hygienically cooked food to far flung schools is indeed novel and worthemulating.

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Mangalore Mysore

Canara Bank have been added to the fleet to cater to the additional number of children.

Number of children being fed : 9,500Number of schools : 50

Number of children being fed : 4,100 Number of schools : 16

Event: Harvard Business School Comes Calling

returned to US and are preparing the case study. To enhance brand awareness, the Foundation organized a walkathon in Bangalore along with a group of enthusiastic residents of Nandini Layout in support of its free mid-day meal program in government schools. Concerned members of the public also joined the residents enroute the 4 km stretch, expressing solidarity with the cause.

The walkathon was arranged by the Nandini Layout Residents Association as part of its cultural utsava held once a year.

Impressed by the technology-oriented operations and commitment of the Foundation in its service to underprivileged children, the students

The coastal town of Mangalore has heartily welcomed the Akshaya Patra program. In the month of March, the automated kitchen facility was formally launched by Subhir Raha, the Chairman of oil major ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Commission), in the presence of Nagaraj, Minister of Ports and Fisheries, Karnataka government. Recently two food distribution vehicles sponsored by the Syndicate Bank and

The Akshaya Patra Foundation in Mysore is currently serving meals to 4,100 students in 16 government schools. It plans to scale up the program only after the completion of the new kitchen facility, which is presently under construction. The new kitchen is designed to cook food for 60,000 children simultaneously and is expected to commence full-fledged operations from the next academic year.

The high point of the last quarter was the visit of management graduates from the Harvard Business School (HBS), USA, to the Foundation's operations in Bangalore to understand the Akshaya Patra mid-day meal feeding program and develop a case study on it. The case study would later be taught to 900 management undergraduates in the next academic year. As is wont with HBS, the case study was funded by Professor David M Upton, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School.

Christine Louise Ellis, Amy Nicole Yamner and Sarah Christine Lucas th thfrom HBS were in India from March 18 to 25 and extensively studied

the Akshaya Patra operations by collating information from the trustees, the management, operations and back office staff, government officials, school authorities, and the children.

Some of the people they interacted with include: Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Anil Kejriwal, KPMG, Gururaj Deshpande, Deshpande Foundation, Ramkumar, ANZ Technologies, Ravi Uppal, ABB, Jyoti Ramlingam, Commissioner, Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, Vijay Bhaskar, IAS officer, Karnataka government and Ram Lubhaya, Principal Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj dept, Rajasthan, besides the founders, trustees and the staff of Akshaya Patra Foundation.

Having observed the automated cooking and food distribution processes in Bangalore, the three HBS representatives also visited two locations in Rajasthan for a first hand experience of both mechanical and manual combination of cooking in Jaipur as well as decentralized village kitchen practices in Baran.

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Overseas News

rural settings of Rajasthan and urged the wealthy Rajasthani community to wholeheartedly participate in this noble cause. Mrs. Scindia is the first Head of State from India to showcase the Akshaya Patra program in USA.

Her ardent appeal and the presentation by the TAPF Director aroused such an overwhelming response from the audience that many individuals promised to contribute to the upcoming, state-of-the-art kitchen facility in Jaipur city. The Jeweller Community in New York has already committed Rs 20 million towards the completion of the kitchen.

Jaipur Nathdwara

As of now, nearly 1,200 labourers are being fed meals at the rate of Rs 5 per plate. The program has elicited such an overwhelming response that the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje Scindia has asked for i ts replication in other parts of the state. Yet another activity is the distribution of drinking water in nearly 10 water-starved slum areas daily under the aegis of the Akshaya Patra Jaladhara.

Akshaya Patra Office in UK…

In its attempt to mobilize support for its child-development program, The Akshaya Patra Foundation (TAPF) is on the verge of setting up an office in United Kingdom. With assistance from TAPF well-wishers Mittu Sridhara and Mrs.Tamsin, all the relevant documents needed to incorporate the UK branch of TAPF have been submitted to the Charity Commission in England. C C Das, Director, (TAPF), was in UK in the month of June to initiate the process. On receiving approval from the Commission and subsequently a charity number, TAPF is planning to launch a series of marketing initiatives and garner support from the local community for its popular mid- day meals program.

…and in USA

To provide local support to the Akshaya Patra activities in USA, the Foundation has appointed Shika Bhatnagar, as Executive Director, TAPF, USA and will be operating from Boston. Bhatnagar comes with several years of professional experience in international development organizations.

Rajasthanis in USA pledge support to Akshaya Patra

Natives of Rajasthan who are now well placed in the US are reaching out to their home community through the Akshaya Patra Foundation. The Rajasthani Association for North America (RANA) in Boston and the Jeweller Community in New York have stepped forward to support the Akshaya Patra program in Rajasthan.

RANA had organized a 4-day convention recently in the US, which was attended by C C Das, Director, TAPF. Officially announcing the TAPF in Rajasthan as its partner, the RANA Board conferred a plaque “Vision, Dedication, Passion and Commitment to the Community” to Akshaya Patra. Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Chief Minister of Rajasthan,

addressed the Convention gathering along with C C Das and appraised the audience about the importance of TAPF program in the urban and

The Akshaya Patra Foundation in Jaipur is presently feeding 60,200 students in 349 schools and anganwadis where even nursing and expectant mothers are included as in Bangalore. A new kitchen facility with the capacity to cook meals for one hundred thousand children is coming up at Jagannathpura in Jaipur as part of the expansion program and will be ready in a couple of months. Once operational, it would become the largest private kitchen in the entire state of Rajasthan.

As an allied activity, the Foundation has started feeding subsidized meals to daily wage earners by erecting special kiosks in many parts of the city and is conducting this activity in partnership with the Jaipur Development Authority. The program is called Akshaya Kaleva.

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The Akshaya Patra program commenced its noon meals feeding at Nathdwara, a famous pilgrim town of Rajasthan in March 2006. With the cooking being done in a temporary kitchen, the program is currently feeding 13,500 children in 147 schools. The government has allotted 20 acres of land for the kitchen facility, construction activity for which is expected to commence soon.

Number of children being fed : 60,200 Number of schools : 349

Number of children being fed : 13,500Number of schools : 147

Baran Vrindavan

By employing self-help groups of about 200 women, food is cooked in decentralized kitchens and distributed to children through special purpose vehicles.

As a socially responsible organization, the Foundation is introducing smokeless chulhas (stoves) in a phased manner to reduce the burden of cooking and also eliminate health problems for these women.

Number of children being fed : 15,000Number of villages : 102

Number of children being fed : 55,532Number of schools : 408

Documented ImpactAt Vrindavan, the holy city of Uttar Pradesh, the Akshaya Patra Foundation is currently reaching out to 55,532 students in 408 schools ( inclusive of 82 anganwadi centres and 20 labour department schools). In an attempt to offer the benefits of wholesome meals to deprived children in that area, theFoundation is also creatingan awareness program by which school authorities visit the kitchen facility for a first hand exposure to the hygienic cooking processes and logistics.

In those areas where there is water shortage, the Foundation is also supplying water sachets to nearly 8,000 school-going children.

The community-specific model in Baran district is feeding 15,000 children in government schools and anganwadis across 102 villages.

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Study findings: C. Dropout / retention The TAPF Mid-day meal program has reduced the dropout rate and improved the retention rate in all higher classes, as enrolment in all higher classes has improved.

Study findings: D. Classroom performance

Proportion of students scoring higher grades has improved.

Proportion of students receiving lower grades has declined.

Impact on Classroom performance for schools in Bangalore

Around 85% of Heads of Institutions / teachers reported that classroom performance has improved for all children after TAPF has started its operation.

Documented Impact

Number of children being fed : 10,250Number of schools : 65

VIPSPEAKPuriStudy objectives The main objective of the study is to critically evaluate the impact of The Akshaya Patra Foundation (TAPF) Mid-day meal program on its beneficiaries, the underprivileged school going children, in schools covered by the TAPF mid-day meal program across five locations.

Key Indicators selected for impact assessment study are following:A. School enrolmentB. Attendance rates C. Dropout ratesD. Classroom performance Study coverage

Study findings: A. School Enrolment

1. Bangalore Enrolment in class I has improved by 23% during first year of program implementation. Enrolment for girls has improved more significantly than enrolment for boys.

2. HubliEnrolment in class I has improved by 16.6% during the first year of program implementation. Average enrolment in Class V has also increased by 31% during this period.

3. Baran Enrolment in Class I has increas-ed by 41.3% (total), 44.9% (girls)and 37.5% (Boys)

4. VrindavanEnrolment enhanced by 12.3% in Class I during first year of program implementation, average enrolment in class V has increased by 17.9%.

Study findings: B. School Attendance 1. Jaipur: Attendance rate has improved by 8.2%

2. BaranAttendance rate has enhanced by12.2%

3. VrindavanAttendance rate has enhanced by 14.6%

Impact on Attendance

Impact on Enrolment for schools in Bangalore

Puri, the coastal district of Orissa is famous for its temples, sanctuaries, sea-scape beauty, and architectural grandeur. The Akshaya Patra Foundation has commenced its free mid-day meal program for less privileged children in this historic town in March 2006 with 5,000 children in 10 schools. Within a couple of months, the program has been scaled up and is now feeding 10,000 children in 65 schools through a make-shift kitchen.

Besides, the Foundation satiated the hunger of over 1,00,000 weary pilgrims during the Rath Yatra held in the last week of June.

“Wonderful and inspirational place and program which will make a great impact on the future and wellbeing of children of this country.”

— Ashok Soota Chairman and CEO of MindTree Consulting Pvt Ltd.

“A very good program which aims at serving the society at the grass root level. I wish that this program should cover the whole of our country.”

— G.C.Yadav Dy. Director UPSC

“A very noble program. This idea deserves respect.” — Eugeniusz Laszkiewicz President, International Co-Op Banking Association

“The Foundation is doing a stupendous job and has taken upon itself the onus of bringing more and more children out of malnutrition and into schools.”

— Pooja Singhal Purwar,IAS Director, Govt of Jharkhand

“Seeing is believing. The food preparation and distribution are very well organised.”

— Alexius Collette CEO, Philips Innovation Campus

Philips Electronics India Ltd.

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Akshaya Patra: Powerful Impact on EducationEndorsement

In addition to providing life-sustaining food to less privileged children, the Akshaya Patra Foundation has taken up initiatives to encourage and promote education in the form of merit scholarships, teacher training programs and extra coaching classes for higher grade students. These efforts seem to have borne fruit, if the outcome of the education intervention in Kolar is any indication.

Kolar district which was at the bottom in terms of pass percentage of students in the State Board examination during the year 2005, has

improved its performance. From the last place (32) it has moved upto ththe 26 position, clocking 64 per cent as against 58 per cent in the

previous academic year.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation had conducted an orientation course for all the heads of institutions in Kolar, in addition to offering special coaching to Class 10 students. All these activities were carried out in collaboration with the Education Department and Zilla Panchayat, Kolar. To augment reading skills among s c h o o l - g o i n g c h i l d r e n , a n accelerated reading program is be i ng r un by t he Aksha ra Foundation, a Bangalore-based NGO. Akshaya Patra has partnered with the Akshara team and is d i s t r i bu t i ng s t o r y ca rds i n government schools.

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