The Times of India on December 17, 2013 covered an important occasion for The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Corporation Bank has donated a meal delivery van to The Akshaya Patra Foundation in Bangalore recently.

S R Bansal, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank flagged off the vehicle while Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation; S M Swathi, Circle General Manager; A K Vinod, Deputy General Manager and Zonal Head, Bangalore (North) and other top officials of the bank were the other dignitaries present.

The dignitaries were also taken on a tour of an Akshaya Patra kitchen to help illumine the process followed to produce food for thousands of children every day.

The custom-built vehicle is insulated to maintain the right temperature; is dust-free and designed to maintain the freshness of the meals. The vehicle will be used to transport hot, healthy meals to the beneficiary schools in the Akshaya Patra mid-day meal programme every day. Corporation Bank also sponsored a meal delivery vehicle to The Akshaya Patra Foundation in 2009.

“The Akshaya Patra’s blue bus is a symbol of hope for the thousands of children across the country. The bus signifies that the child will not go hungry and we thought that the best way to be a part of this programme is by donating the mid-day meal vehicle,” said S R Bansal.

Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman, Akshaya Patra Foundation, said: “Many organizations in the banking sector have always supported Akshaya Patra in its endeavour. We are honoured that Corporation Bank has continued to strengthen its partnership with us. With their continued support, we hope that we will be able to reach out to more hungry children across the country and by 2025 to at least five million children across India.”

The Akshaya Patra Foundation works alongside the Government of India to implement the mid-day meal programme, and is currently in nine states, across nineteen locations in India and feeding over 1.3 million children every day.

Source: The Times of India