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Mission of AkshayaPatra:
To alleviate hungerand promoteeducation byproviding free schoollunches tounderprivileged childrenattending governmentand government-assistedschools
.
Akshaya Patra Launches Operations in Gujarat
On July 28, 2007, the Akshaya Patra Foundation launched its thirteenthkitchen in Gujarat. The organization is now feeding more than 800,000children in six states on a daily basis. The kitchen’s inauguration was heldat the Town Hall in the state's capital city, Gandhinagar. Severaldignitaries served an Akshaya Patra meal to about 150 children and thenshared the meal with them.Akshaya Patra has started feeding 51,000 students in Gujarat usingtemporary facilities, and a fleet of custom-built trucks has been deliveringthe noon-time meals to the schools. A permanent kitchen in Ahmedabadwill have the capacity to feed over 150,000 children on a daily basis. Aswith Akshaya Patra's other kitchens, this facility will use state-of-the-arttechnology and will be built to ISO standards. A feature new to Gujarat is the chapatti-making machine, which can rollout 10,000 chapattis in one hour. The estimated cost of building the new kitchen is $1.5 million. Akshaya Patra's USoffice, located in Stoneham, MA, will be actively raising support for this new operation.“Akshaya Patra is an initiative that could transform India if we could replicate it nationwide,” said Madhu Sridhar,President of Akshaya Patra USA.
“
A developed India tomorrow cannot be a reality until we take responsibility for thisvulnerable segment of our population.
 
We need to take individual responsibility to be part of the solution. AkshayaPatra, with its proven track record and scalable model, offers that solution,” said Sridhar.
 
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Announcements:
•
OperationsLaunched inGujarat
•
AP Welcomes NewPresident
•
 Walkathon Raises$25K for TAPF1Message from TAPFUSA President2Akshaya Patra Update 3Article: Why SchoolLunch Programs?4Volunteer Spotlight 5Community OrgPartners5Launch of New Website6CHC Hunger FellowDeparts for India6Article: Summer Internships7
Akshaya Patra USA: Food for Education
News & Views
 
NOVEMBER 2007VOLUME 1 ISSUE 2
Food for Life: A Walk for theChildren Raises $25,000 forAkshaya Patra
On a crisp autumnmorning inCambridge, MA,almost 100enthusiasticAkshaya Patrasupportersgathered toparticipate in theorganization’sfirst annual walkathon, Food for Life: A Walkfor the Children. The five mile walk along thepicturesque Charles River looped throughCambridge and into Boston, to raise awarenessand funds for the children Akshaya Patra servesin India. The event was a huge success, raisingalmost $25,000 for Akshaya Patra, well exceedingthe expected target for the organization’s firstever walk. Participants, many of whom raisedmore than $1000 each from pledges received fromfriends, family, and colleagues, received free t-shirts and a warm lunch. “We were blown awaywith how well the event turned out and theoutpouring of support we received. We areexcited about raising the bar even higher nextyear,” remarked Akshaya Patra USA ExecutiveDirector, Shikha Bhatnagar.
 
Akshaya Patra WelcomesNew President
In July, a year after opening its office in the United States,Akshaya Patra welcomed Madhu Sridhar, a wellrespected community leader and a long time resident ofMassachusetts, as the President of the U.S. office. She willbe leading U.S. operations and building support for itsprograms in India.Madhu Sridhar, who has devoted much of her career inleading nonprofit organizations, believes Akshaya Patrais well positioned to take its mission beyond Boston andstart a grassroots movement by forming local chapters(“Champion Circles”) all across the U.S. In its next phase,Akshaya Patra also plans to aggressively garner supportfrom corporations through matching funds andfoundation grants, especially engaging businesses withpresence in India.Madhu Sridhar’s impressive 20-plus years leadershipexperience includes serving on the boards of League ofWomen Voters, ACLU, WGBH and Chinmaya MarutiMission. In June, she completed her second two-year termas the President of the League of Women Voters ofMassachusetts, a statewide organization with over 60chapters spread across the state. She is the Commissionerfor the Massachusetts Commission on the Status ofWomen, appointed by the Senate President. Her businessexperience includes working as the Director of ActuarialDepartment for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of
(continued on page 5)
 
Akshaya Patra USA92 Montvale Avenue, Suite 2500Stoneham, MA 02180Phone: 781-438-3090Fax: 781-481-9155tapf.info@akshayapatrausa.orgwww.foodforeducation.org
 
2
 AKSHAYA PATRA … LEADING THE WAY  
India has captured popular global imagination with its outstanding growth story of the past few years.A vibrant democracy, resurgent economy, thriving private sector and increased integration with the worldeconomy has brought India to the center stage.While it is gratifying that the frontiers of market have expanded dramatically in the last decade and a half,they still exclude certain segments of the population. India is home to 57 million malnourished childrenliving in abject poverty. Studies have reported more undernourished children in India than in Sub-SaharanAfrica.Hunger is also a stumbling block for education for poor children, locking them into a vicious cycle of poverty. 40-60% of childrenaged 6 to 14 are not in school. The dropout rate remains high, and literacy, especially among women, remains low.Similar appalling disparities of health, wealth, and opportunity, existing throughout the world, condemn millions of people to lives ofdespair. It is our collective challenge to provide the poor and the less fortunate equitable access to food, education, jobs andhealthcare and harness the wealth of human potential.In this interconnected global world, virtually every major challenge that we face asindividual nations; be it hunger, security, economy or environment; has both adomestic as well as a transnational dimension. It is becoming increasingly apparent, asnever before, that we need to fashion a global response to these challenges.Empowering children with nutrition and education is crucial to the development of asecure, healthy and productive society.Akshaya Patra, a public-private partnership and the largest NGO run midday school meal program, is leading the way in addressingthese important challenges – hunger and education among underprivileged children in India. Launched modestly in 2000 to feed1500 children, Akshaya Patra has scaled its operations to feed almost 800,000 children daily, giving them an incentive to come toschool, stay in school, and providing the necessary nutrients they need to improve their performance in the classroom. For many ofthese children, this is their only complete meal for the day. Our revolutionizing program is unique in magnitude, complexity,method of delivery and approach, using technology extensively to minimize cost, time and labor. $28 feeds a child for the entire year.We are confident that providing meals and educational opportunities will break these children free from generations of poverty andwill help them become productive citizens of the world. With a proven track record, scalable solution and unwavering commitment,we strive to empower these children, give them real options for their futures and create a lasting impact.Our short term goal is to sustain and expand the program to feed one million children by 2010 and our long term goal is to replicatethis model throughout India. Yes, we are running a marathon, not a sprint, and our strategies and policies reflect that.
 
Our success is assured if you choose to stand with us. TOGETHER, we can transform India and the world. Children are the ultimatebeneficiaries of this program. Your financial support to Akshaya Patra will provide the best return on any investment you will evermake.
On behalf of 800,000 children that we serve, I THANK YOU for your generous support and I count on your continuedcommitment.
Madhu SridharPresident, Akshaya Patra USA
 Message from our New President
With a proven track record,scalable solution and unwavering commitment, we strive to empower these children, give them real options for their futures and create a lasting impact.” 
 
3
November, 2007Dear Members of the Akshaya Patra Family,We hope you are all doing well, and preparing for the holiday season. Here at Akshaya Patra USA, there hasbeen a flurry of activity as we hosted two major events in the Boston area, welcomed new staff members toour team, and launched our new website. This is an exciting time for our organization and a pivotal time forus to build support for our important program on a large scale within the United States. We are confidentthat we can count on your support.
 Expansion, Excitement, Engagement 
...
that is what we have achieved over the past several months:
•
Expanded Staff:
I am excited to welcome
two new members
of the Akshaya Patra USA team:
Madhu Sridhar
, the newPresident of Akshaya Patra USA, and
Tanya Palit
, who has joined us as Administrative Assistant. Madhu comes in with a breadth ofexperience, most recently as President of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts. Tanya recently completed her Masters inInternational Development from Clark University in Worcester. We are incredibly fortunate to have these dedicated individuals joinour staff. Their contributions will be indelible to the success of our organization. I look forward to working with both of them inbuilding a stronger Akshaya Patra.
•
Expanded Operations:
Akshaya Patra is proud to announce that we are now feeding school children in the
State of Gujarat
! Weare currently feeding over 50,000 children in the cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar through temporary facilities. A new kitchenis being planned in Ahmedabad, but we will need YOUR help in raising enough funds for its completion. For more informationabout the Gujarat operations, visit the article in this newsletter. To donate, visitwww.foodforeducation.org.
•
Exciting Events:
Akshaya Patra recently hosted two major inaugural events this fall, our
Food for Life: A Walk for Children
,held on September 29
th
, in Cambridge, MA, and the
Food for Education Inaugural Benefit Gala
, an evening of elegance, inspiration,and fun, which was held on October 5
th
, at the Hotel Marlowe, also in Cambridge. Both of these events were extremely successful andraised the bar for future events. Read more about the Walkathon in this newsletter. Details about the gala will be included in our nextnewsletter and posted on our website. If you would like to host similar events in your area, please contact us attapf.info@akshayapatrausa.org.
•
Engagement of Donors and Supporters:
 
ο
Visit our New Website:
We are very proud to announce the launching of our new Akshaya Patra USA Website:www.foodforeducation.org! In addition to a link and information provided on the main Akshaya Patra website(www.akshayapatra.org), our new website will have information specifically on how supporters in the US can get moreinvolved with Akshaya Patra, happenings around the country, and updates on our operations in India. Check it out!
ο
Few from a Million Campaign:
The power of one is significant, but the power of many is infinite. We have a goal ofmobilizing one million people behind our campaign of fighting hunger and promoting education among India’schildren. If one million people gave a minimum donation of $28, the cost to feed one child every day for an entire year,the power of the funds raised would change the lives for one million children in India. However, we need YOUR helpin creating the movement for change. Send our newsletter to 10 of your friends, direct them to our website,www.foodforeducation.org, where they can send information about Akshaya Patra to their friends, colleagues, andrelatives. We strongly believe that the goal of one million is feasible and the vision of alleviating poverty is achievable.Again, your support is crucial as we set our course for the remaining months and determine our strategic goals for 2008. Donate,attend our events, spread the word. As always, please feel free to contact us at 781-438-3090 or attapf.info@akshayapatrausa.orgifyou have any questions or comments about our program. We welcome ideas and suggestions on how to improve our efforts.With deepest gratitude for your continued support,Shikha BhatnagarExecutive Director, Akshaya Patra USAShikha@akshayapatrausa.org.
 
 Akshaya Patra USA Update
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