Akshaya Patra Foundation with the Support of Sarva Mangal Family Trust and Balkrishna Industries Limited Inaugurates its New Centralised Kitchen in Bhuj

2024-11-06 11:23:07 News & Society

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The Akshaya Patra Foundation, with the support of Sarva Mangal Family Trust and Balkrishna Industries Limited (BKT), inaugurated its new kitchen in Bhuj, Gujarat. Through this kitchen, Akshaya Patra will endeavor to implement various feeding programmes of the Government of Gujarat and benefit various sections of the society. The new kitchen, which will adhere to international standards of food safety and hygiene, is set to commence operations after Government approvals.

The kitchen was inaugurated by Dr Nimaben Acharya, MLA, Bhuj. The Guests of Honour for the event were Smt Lataben Solanki, President, Nagar Pallika, Bhuj; Shri Manubhai, Shri Raj Shah and Smt Rika Shah, Founders, Sarva Mangal Family Trust; and Shri Basant Kumar Bansal, CFO, BKT. Also present at the occasion were Shri Laxmansinh Sodha, Hon?ble President District Panchayat, Kutch; Smt Amrutben Rabadia, Sarpanch, Sukhpar, Bhuj; Shri Mukesh Zaveri, Director - Sardar Sarvar Nigam Limited; Shri Narendra Kumar, Plant Head, Balkrishna Industries and Shri V P Mathur, Head HR, Balkrishna Industries. The event was presided by Shri Jaganmohan Krishna Dasa ? President, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, Gujarat.

The Foundation currently feeds around 4 lakh beneficiaries in Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Vadodara, Surat, and Kalol in Gujarat through its five centralised kitchens. The new kitchen, with a built-up area of 4244 sq.mt., will be the Foundation?s 6th kitchen in the state and 42nd kitchen in the country. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure with the capacity to cook around 2,500 kg rice, prepare over 21,000 rotis and process 1,200 kg of vegetables every hour, and a sukhdi making machine to make 225 kg sukhdi per batch. As a standard practice, it will also have an RO water plant and cold storage.

Shri Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice Chairman, Akshaya Patra, said, ?It has always been our endeavour to reach out and serve the society while ensuring sustainability. We are immensely grateful to our donors and the Government, who have empowered and enabled us to build this kitchen.?

Shri Jaganmohan Krishna Dasa expressed, ?We are thankful for the unwavering encouragement and support by our partners in building this centralised kitchen in Bhuj. I extend my sincere thanks to Shri Vinod Chavda, MP, Kutch, and Dr Nimaben Acharya, MLA, Bhuj for their support. I would also like to thank the Government of Gujarat for their continued support to our initiative in the State since we began our operations in 2009.?

The dignitaries present at the inauguration expressed their support and encouragement for this initiative to serve the people of Bhuj. They were unanimous in commending The Akshaya Patra Foundation, Sarva Mangal Family Trust, and BKT for the launch of the centralised kitchen.

Focusing on taste and health, Akshaya Patra?s meals are customised to suit the local palate in each state, so that they are not just nutritious, but also delicious. The menu in Gujarat includes dal dhokli, thepla, sukhdi, churmu, chakri and cookies which are popular in the local cuisine.

About Sarva Mangal Family Trust
Established in 1994 by Mr and Mrs Rika Shah & family, the mission of the Sarva Mangal Family Trust is to improve and strengthen the health, education, and wellness of communities and help them prepare for global jobs of the 21st century. Sarva Mangal is a Sanskrit word which means ?Goodness to All.? To advance this mission, the Sarva Mangal Family Trust has donated to and is continuing to work with various organisations and programmes in health promotion and prevention, assisting victims of domestic violence, empowering seniors, entrepreneurship, technological literacy, community activism, and children?s education. The trust would like to expand its partnership with individuals and organisations that work directly with local communities and further the Trust?s mission.
For more details, please log on: http://sarvamangalfamilytrust.org/

About BKT
Against the backdrop of a highly competitive tire market, BKT supports and sustains customers in the growth of their business. We are committed to always offering new quality solutions that are able to satisfy the most demanding user needs for any application. Our commitment to mutual growth with our partners in terms of both efficiency and productivity is perfectly illustrated in our claim, ?Growing Together.? This philosophy has been inspiring all our production processes and business activities

since our inception. Considering it part of our social responsibilities, we have adopted the strictest measures for safeguarding the environment. And it goes without saying that we show great respect for our people working every day with passion to achieve our corporate goals. The achievement of our mission and vision is based on a functional corporate structure led by effective management. For more details, please log on: https://www.bkt-tires.com/en

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. For more details, please log on: www.akshayapatra.org