Energy and education will fuel generations of children to reach their fullest potential and aspire to a brighter tomorrow.
Summary
At BW LPG India, we believe that energy can uplift communities. With this belief, we are delighted to support the Akshaya Patra Foundation with their energy needs as they cook nutritious meals for children. Hunger and malnutrition are some of the major causes of low enrolment, increased absenteeism, and early dropouts in schools for the estimated nine crore children from low-income backgrounds in India. Energy for cooking can change this.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation supports the Government of India’s PM POSHAN Scheme (earlier known as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme), which provides a nourishing meal to children in school. The program has improved students’ academic performance and concentration in class, facilitated better socialization and fostered a sense of equality amongst students.
About the Akshaya Patra Foundation
The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that strives to address classroom hunger and malnutrition in India. By implementing the PM POSHAN Scheme (formerly known as 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 during school days. The program has been shown to improve students’ academic performance and concentration in class, facilitated better socialization and fostered a sense of equality amongst students.
In partnership with the Government of India and various state governments, and with the support of donors and well-wishers, Akshaya Patra has grown to manage one of the largest NGO-run mid-day meal programs in the world, serving wholesome food to over 2 million children from more than 22,000 schools, It has over 70 kitchens across India.
Small Beginnings
The collaboration between BW LPG India and the Akshaya Patra Foundation began in late 2023, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for BW LPG India to support the Foundation as an Energy Partner for nine centralized kitchens in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The kitchens are located in Gambhiram, Gudivada, Kakinada, Kuppam, Mangalagiri, Nellore, Srikakulam, Vizag and Varanasi. Through this collaboration, BW LPG India supported the cooking of approximately 12 million mid-day meals for children from over 2,200 schools in the two States.
In April 2024, BW LPG India renewed its MOU for another Financial Year, and expanded its support for an additional three centralized kitchens to include Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, as well as Dehradun and Gadarpur in Uttarakand. Combined, we will support the cooking of approximately 42.7 million midday meals for children from 2,700 schools.
Gaining Momentum: Powering Kitchens with LPG
A year after the signing of our first MOU with the Foundation, BW LPG India signed another MOU for another “first” – a pioneering collaboration on a pilot project to convert a briquette-powered kitchen to LPG-powered equipment. This conversion will be a showcase of the Foundation’s commitment to sustainability initiatives as it strives to reduce its environmental impact. The selected central kitchen for this pilot project is in Puri, Odisha.
Puri is home to the revered Jagannath Mandir and the magnificent Sun Temple at Konârak. This pilot conversion project aligns with the Foundation’s efforts to honor and preserve the cultural and environmental significance of the region, and BW LPG India’s corporate purpose to deliver energy for a better world. Serving 38,000 daily meals to local schools from the Puri kitchen, timing and care are essential to ensure that our children remain our top priority during this transition. We are proud to support The Akshaya Patra Foundation in this innovative energy conversion project, leading the way to a more sustainable future. BW LPG India will sponsor the costs to install a new Liquid Off Take (LOT) system comprising two boilers, one vaporizer and required equipment such as filters and valves at the Puri kitchen. We will also commit to sponsoring the operational energy costs of the converted kitchen for the next five years. Read more about our pilot project here.
A Partnership Fueled by A Common Goal: For the Betterment of Children’s Lives
The expansion of our support for the Foundation is testament to a partnership which has exceeded expectations in terms of outreach to the community. BW LPG India looks forward to growing its partnership, and to use energy to uplift generations of children in India.
Read More
– Read about the Akshaya Patra Foundation here.
– Read about LPG and its benefits at The World Liquid Gas Association.
– Read about our approach to Sustainability here.
Topics: human capital development, students, malnutrition, diversity and inclusion, community involvement, community contribution, local interactions, CSR, Sustainability, environmental protection, technology, clean-cooking