With an aim to conduct a case study as part of their curriculum, a group of Executive MBA students from London Business School visited the Akshaya Patra Foundation in Bangalore, during the last week of August, 2013. These students, who are experienced executives drawn from a wide range of sectors and backgrounds, visited the Akshaya Patra V.K. Hill kitchen and interacted with the various departments that work as a unit to feed 1.3 million children across India. This was followed by a visit to nearing schools and interaction with a number of children who are beneficiaries of the Akshaya Patra mid-day meal programme.

The team’s objective was to understand the capability of the organisation to innovate and adapt to change in management systems, market strategies and product and service offerings.

After detailed meetings with Heads of departments starting from Kitchen Operations and Logistics to Fundraising, Internet Marketing, Communications and Human Resources, the team got an insight into various aspects such as challenges faced by the foundation and the methods adopted to tackle them.

Each of the representatives had a highly positive experience at the end of their visit. They felt deep appreciation towards the Foundation’s efforts for a cause. One of them said, “The focus on quality and implementation is a worldwide model at Akshaya Patra. All the people of the Foundation seem to live the cause.”

When asked about their experience after visiting the kitchen and seeing the process, they echoed, “The process is world-class. Operation excellence is the watchword at this organisation. The Foundation has built a very impressive structure and module. Everything was going to the minute with great importance to high hygiene levels.”

The school visit was a whole new experience to the team. They found the children very well-behaved and determined towards their goals. One of the members of the team said, “The school visits made everything clear. One must not forget that these kids are a part of a whole community. In a country with such high levels of poverty, small things make a huge difference in an entire generation”

The team was awed by The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s work and some of them even said that they “would like to work with the organisation in the future and become as professional as all the employees who are part of it”.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is constantly working towards feeding children who come from lesser privileged economic backgrounds. The organisation supports aspiring experts and executives who seek to conduct such studies in order to get a deeper understanding of its functioning and operation.