Peace and Development through Mid-Day Meals

Science has been a way of life. Using logic, it can explain an issue and provide tactical solutions. Science has led to innumerable discoveries in every field and continues to throw light on causes and consequences.

In the last few decades, we have all come to a conclusion that science helps us in understanding the past, the present and the future. For without science, development would have been difficult. This year, as we observe World Science Day for Peace and Development 2016 – established by United Nations to demonstrate the relevance of science, let us try to understand how science can be applied in building a better future for our children, especially from an NGO’s perspective.

World Science Day is celebrated annually on November 10 and it witnesses global participation from non-profit-organisations, governments, institutions, corporates and individuals. Celebrating this day helps us gain insights into the developments in the field of science. For Akshaya Patra, an NGO for children which supplies nutritious mid-day meals to schools, science has been a boon – innovation and technology have been the driving force to reach millions of children on every school day.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation began its mid-day meal operations with a vision – ‘No child should be deprived of education because of hunger.’ When this food for education initiative took off in the year 2000, the organisation provided mid-day meals to 1,500 children. But with the help of donors, government and advanced technology implemented in our kitchens, the reach has now increased to over 1.6 million children. This number proves the need of the programme.

The history of mid-day meal in India goes back to pre-independence era when Madras Corporation introduced free lunch programme in the year 1925 in Puducherry. In 1962, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu made it a mandate that all primary school children in the state must benefit from Mid-Day Meal Scheme. In 2001, the Supreme Court of India passed an order stating, "We direct the State Governments/Union Territories to implement the Mid-Day Meal Scheme by providing every child in every Government and Government assisted Primary School with a prepared mid-day meal."

The Mid-Day Meal Programme aims to address three important issues:

i. End classroom hunger

ii. Increase school enrolment

iii. Address malnutrition

Meals with a Motto

Through the years of many challenges and achievements, science has played an important role in transforming children’s lives through food for education. All of Akshaya Patra’s centralised kitchens are equipped with sustainable food processing machines and 304 grade stainless steel vessels which are finest for cooking and handling food. Even the delivery vans are optimized to maintain food temperature and they all follow GPRS to ensure on-time delivery of meals. Akshaya Patra, with support from the government, is able to reach over 1.6 million children in 11 states across India.

With 16 years of experience as a children’s NGO, we can doubtlessly say that ‘Science is a process in search of a better tomorrow.’ Through science and its developments, we will be able to build peace in the minds of children.