NEW YORK: In an event titled “Achievements in Food Security: India’s Strides Towards Sustainable Development Goals” at the United Nations headquarters here, the Akshaya Patra Foundation celebrated its landmark achievement of serving four billion meals.
In attendance were Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, N R Narayana Murthy the Chairman Emeritus of Infosys, and Madhu Pandit Dasa, founder-chairman of the Akshaya Patra Foundation. Together, they stressed the power of collaborative efforts to eradicate hunger and enhance education through nutritional support. Satyarthi said, “Akshaya Patra has successfully kept millions of children from dropping out of schools who would otherwise be pushed into labor due to their socio-economic status.”
Narayana Murthy appreciated their efforts and said, “Akshaya Patra’s grand and noble battle to ensure that no child is denied education because of hunger is a crucial piece in this complex jigsaw puzzle.”
Madhu Pandit Dasa explained that in the past 24 years, Akshaya Patra has demonstrated a model for large-scale feeding in partnership with the government to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger. Reiterating the commitment to serve “hot, nutritious, safe, and tasty meals” to children every school day, he thanked the stakeholders including the Government of India, the Ministry of Education, state governments, corporate partners, individual donors, and the community at large for their support.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a message read by India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj in which he congratulated the Akshaya Patra Foundation for its consistent initiatives to make into reality the global aspiration of Zero Hunger.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation was established in 2000. Going a step ahead with the ISKCON temple’s tradition of feeding the hungry, it all began with feeding 1,500 children of five schools in Bengaluru. This initiative grew to become the world’s largest (not-for-profit run) mid-day meal program, serving wholesome food to over two million children from 24,082 schools in 72 locations across 16 states and 2 Union Territories in India.
