Expressnews
National – December, 02nd 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. Signing 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 global 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 in India daily & Food4Education serves over 4,50,000 children in Africa daily.
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 programmes, we will be able to ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive in a healthy and supportive environment.”
