WFP, Akshaya Patra Foundation join hands to strengthen India's school feeding programme
New Delhi: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Akshaya Patra Foundation (TAPF) will work together to enhance school meals programmes in India with an aim of sharing the experience beyond the country.
Mid-day Meals Scheme also known as Prime Minister Poshan is one of the three main food-based safety nets in India, reaching close to 100 million school aged children with hot-cooked meals. The scheme plays a significant role in retention of children in school while providing nutritional security.
An agreement was signed between Bishow Parajuli, Representative and Country Director for WFP in India, and Shri Chanchalapthi Dasa, Vice-Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, on 3 January in New Delhi.
“The partnership is a strategic force multiplier that combines our work and experience in school meals spanning for the last six decades. India has provided a safety net to children through school meals and its excellent track record and various initiatives could be a model in other countries too,” said Parajuli.
“With this partnership, we aim to complement WFP’s global network of running large-scale school feeding programs across the world with our expertise in addressing hunger at the grassroots level,” said Dasa.
Under the partnership, WFP and the Akshaya Patra Foundation will aim to enhance food safety and hygiene projects, capacity building of cooks-cum-helpers and nutritional quality of school meals. The two organizations will share knowledge by organizing workshops as well as policy and strategy dialogues with the Government to improve the quality of the school meals programme.
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About the World Food Programme
The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
About Akshaya Patra Foundation
The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that strives to address classroom hunger and malnutrition in India. 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 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.