28 November 2024: The Akshaya Patra Foundation, the world’s largest NGO-run school meal program and an implementation partner of the PM POSHAN program based in Bangalore, India, is pleased to announce a transformative partnership with Food4Education, a Kenya-based nonprofit dedicated to mainstreaming school feeding programs across Africa.
Signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last week, wherein The Akshaya Patra Foundation goes global by becoming the official ‘Knowledge Partner’ for Kenya’s Food4Education. The two organizations set out to accelerate international efforts toward food security and educational empowerment, marking a significant step in addressing one of the most pressing challenges faced by school children worldwide: access to nutritious meals.
Food4Education and Akshaya Patra share a unified vision of delivering school feeding at scale in their respective continents. The Akshaya Patra Foundation currently feeds 2.25 million children in India daily, and Food4Education serves over 4,50,000 children in Africa daily.
The partnership will focus on two key pillars:
- Knowledge Transfer for Enhanced Operations and Outcomes: Leveraging Akshaya Patra’s expertise in large-scale kitchen operations, technology, safety, and logistics, the collaboration will enable Food4Education to optimize processes for efficient meal delivery as the organization scales across Africa. By sharing best practices, the partnership aims to improve educational and health outcomes, directly contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Zero Hunger (SDG 2) and Quality Education (SDG 4).
- Building Sustainable Systems: Both organizations are committed to environmentally responsible practices, such as waste reduction, renewable energy integration, and innovative meal preparation and delivery methods.
These efforts aim to ensure long-term benefits for communities while supporting global initiatives for a greener future. The initiative will also facilitate immersive exchanges between team members, fostering mutual learning and driving innovation in school feeding programs.
“This partnership is more than just bilateral cooperation; it serves as a transformational model for international collaboration in school feeding, showcasing how locally-rooted strategies can influence international policies on child nutrition,” said Wawira Njiru, Founder and CEO of Food4Education. “By highlighting the effectiveness of community-driven, scalable, and sustainable feeding initiatives, we hope to inspire further cross-border partnerships and initiatives, whether local, national, or regional” she added.
Celebrating the occasion, Sri. Chanchalapathi Dasa, Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation stated, “As Akshaya Patra enters its 25th year in the service of children in partnership with the government, we feel both proud and humbled looking back at what we have achieved. Today, we add yet another chapter to our history as we collaborate with Food4Education and take a step towards expanding our mission to nourish and empower children. Both, Akshaya Patra and Food4Education have a firm belief in the transformative power of education as well as the power of a school meal to bring children to school. Food4Education is doing remarkable work in the school feeding space in Kenya under the able leadership of Ms. Wawira Njiru. By combining our expertise in school feeding programs, we will be able to ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive in a healthy and supportive environment.” He further added, “We are fortunate that today we find ourselves in a position where we can share our knowledge to serve children beyond India. The success of our initiatives is a result of the support of all our stakeholders— both central & state government bodies, corporate partners, donors, and communities—whose unwavering support has been instrumental in our journey.”
Mr. Shridhar Venkat, CEO of The Akshaya Patra Foundation, said, “Our firm belief that every child should have equal access to nutrition has helped us to accelerate our initiatives for the past 24 years. As we commence our 25th year of service, we take the children of Kenya along with us in the spirit of partnership for future generations. We believe that when children are well educated, they are better equipped to navigate life’s biggest challenges. We have been providing children in India a nutritious, tasty mid-day meal as an incentive to come to school, thus securing their continued access to nutrition and education. We appreciate Ms. Wawira Njiru and her team’s commendable efforts to support the children of Kenya. Our partnership with Food4Education will allow us to work with them and serve the children in Kenya.”
The initiative builds upon Akshaya Patra’s milestone achievement of serving its 4 billionth meal earlier this year, under the leadership of Founder-Chairman Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa at the United Nations Assembly. His address underscored the ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam—the world as one family—and called for international collaboration to nurture children worldwide.
Together, The Akshaya Patra Foundation and Food4Education aim to set a global benchmark in leveraging school meal programs to achieve widespread social impact, ensuring children everywhere have the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive in a supportive environment.
