The Akshaya Patra Foundation set up a temporary kitchen in Alappuzha district of Kerala, to serve free meals to people in the flood-affected parts of the state. A team of 25 volunteers was immediately dispatched to the affected area to set up the kitchen and distribute freshly prepared food to the affected people. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were served through Akshaya Patra delivery vehicles.The first kitchen was set up at the Pandangiri Lower Primary School, but unfavourable weather conditions and heavy flooding resulted in it being shifted to St. Aloysius College Stadium. Eventually, the kitchen setup was moved to Kidangamparambu Sree Bhuvaneswari Temple auditorium in Alappuzha.Till date, Akshaya Patra has served 25,000 freshly cooked meals (rice, sambar, special rice, palya, etc.) and around 70,000 chapattis in the region. The organisation’s flood relief efforts through feeding meals will continue till the situation improves.
Akshaya Patra expresses gratitude to Shri. G. Sudhakaran - Minister for Public Works and Registration, Shri. S. Suhas - District Collector, Shri. Kodikunnil Suresh - MP Mavelikara, Shri. A. Murali – Deputy Collector and Shri. S. Subhash - Edathua Village Officer for giving us an opportunity to serve the people of Kerala during this crisis. Shri. Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice-Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation expressed that “we have ensured our best to serve fresh hot meals to the people of Kerala. We thank the officials and volunteers for the support extended during the difficult times in Kerala. We will continue our services by feeding till the situation stabilizes.”Over the years, Akshaya Patra has actively undertaken disaster relief feeding in different parts of the country as it is our firm belief that food offers comfort to people during such crisis. We are glad that we have been able to support and comfort the people of Kerala in the aftermath of devastating floods that have hit the state.
About The Akshaya Patra Foundation
The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Bengaluru, India, which strives to address issues like hunger and malnutrition in the country. By implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Government and Government-aided schools, Akshaya Patra aims to fight hunger and at the same time, bring children to school. Since 2000, Akshaya Patra has worked towards reaching out to children with wholesome food on every single school day. The Foundation is continuously leveraging technology to cater to millions of children. Its state-of-the-art kitchens have become a subject of study and attract curious visitors from around the world.In partnership with the Government of India and various State Governments, and the inestimable support of many philanthropic donors and well-wishers, Akshaya Patra has grown from humble beginnings serving just 1,500 school children across five schools to becoming the world’s largest (not-for-profit run) mid-day meal programme, serving wholesome food to over 1.7 million children from 14,264 schools across 12 states in India.