Applied Materials strengthens partnership with Akshaya Patra
Funds Food for Over 2,000 Students and Meal Delivery Vehicles
India, July 3, 2012: Applied Materials Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Applied Materials Inc. has funded meals for over 2000 students and state-of-the-art meal distribution vehicles to The Akshaya Patra Foundation. This is the fourth year that Applied Materials, the global leader in Nanomanufacturing Technology™ solutions, is partnering with Akshaya Patra, one of the largest mid day meal programs in the world, to fulfill their shared vision of creating a brighter future for the deserving children.
The custom-designed vehicles donated will be used to distribute mid-day meals to children in government schools across Bangalore. Akshaya Patra is currently feeding more than 1.4 million school children every day in 19 locations in 9 states across the country. The two meal delivery vehicles will help transport hot, nutritious meals from the centralized kitchens to about 5000 children daily in 40 schools each day. These meals give the children an incentive to come to school, stay in school and provides them with the necessary nutrients they need to develop their cognitive abilities to focus on learning.
Commenting on the occasion, Sri Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice Chairman, Akshaya Patra Foundation, said “Corporates are the key to the success of Akshaya Patra programme which has grown from feeding 1500 children a day in 2000 to more than a million children per day. Applied Materials’ support and confidence in Akshaya Patra is essential for us to continue to expand this program and provide hope to the children”.
Aninda Moitra, President & Managing Director, Applied Materials India, flagged off the vehicle at a ceremony held at Akshaya Patra’s corporate office in Bangalore. Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Moitra said, “The Applied Materials Foundation is committed to investing in meaningful social causes in the communities where we operate. We are proud to extend our association with Akshaya Patra Foundation in 2012 to support the critical cause of ensuring nourishment through healthy mid-day meals for school children. The meal van initiative supported by the Foundation provides these children with timely, nutritious food which is crucial for their growth and academic development.”
The Applied Materials Foundation commenced its partnership with Akshaya Patra in 2009 by sponsoring a meal distribution vehicle and mid-day meals for 1,000 children studying in government schools. With every passing year, the partnership has strengthened in terms of the number of students being sponsored and the number of meal delivery vehicles catering to several schools.
About Akshaya Patra
The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one of the world’s largest NGO-run midday meal programme, feeding 1.4 children each day in over 9,000 schools through 19 kitchens in 9 states in India. A public-private partnership, Akshaya Patra combines good management, innovative technology and smart engineering to deliver school lunch at a fraction of the cost of similar programs in other parts of the world. This mid day meal serves as an incentive for children to come to school, stay in school and provides them with the necessary nutrients they need to develop their cognitive abilities to focus on learning.
Akshaya Patra’s kitchens are specially designed by engineers to leverage technology. The organization also sources its food stocks from local markets, thereby reducing costs associated with transportation and food spoilage while supporting the local economy. In a short time, the foundation has grown to become the largest, and certainly the most innovative, school lunch program in the world. Akshaya Patra exemplifies what can be accomplished when public sector and civil society collaborate - a cost effective, scalable solution with high quality service delivery. Akshaya Patra’s next milestone is to serve 5 million children daily by 2020. For more information, please visit www.akshayapatra.org or www.foodforeducation.org.
About Applied Materials, Inc
Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT) is the global leader in providing innovative equipment, services and software to enable the manufacture of advanced semiconductor, flat panel display and solar photovoltaic products. Our technologies help make innovations like smartphones, flat screen TVs and solar panels more affordable and accessible to consumers and businesses around the world. At Applied Materials, we turn today's innovations into the industries of tomorrow.
Applied Materials measures its value as a global citizen in part by its efforts to strengthen the communities where it does business. In order to achieve our goals of providing leadership and making meaningful social contributions around the world, we aim to address specific community needs by supporting initiatives in Education, Civic Development, the Environment and Arts Culture. Learn more at www.appliedmaterials.com