PANAJI
Saligao and parts of North Goa are set to welcome a new chapter in the mid-day meal programme as the Akshaya Patra Foundation gears up to serve 2,500 students from the upcoming academic year, next month.
Operating under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, the Foundation has ambitious expansion plans, subject to government approval.
Speaking exclusively to The Goan, Akshaya Patra’s Chief Executive Officer Shridhar Venkat emphasized that their goal is to complement existing meal services, not disrupt them.
“Akshaya Patra functions on a PPP model. At the end of the day, we follow government directives. Our operations are based on a 60 per cent funding model from the Central and State governments, while 40 per cent will come from corporate and individual donors. We are eager to serve more children with nutritious and tasty meals but it all depends on government decisions,” he said.
The Foundation’s State-of-the-art kitchen in Saligao will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on March 17, with full-scale operations commencing from April 1. The facility will initially cater to students within a 20 km radius, operating from the multi-purpose cyclone shelter house in Saligao.
While the government is finalizing the list of schools that will receive meals from Akshaya Patra, government officials confirmed to The Goan that these institutions are not currently under any Self-Help Groups (SHGs). This development has certainly come as a relief to many SHGs who were concerned about being allegedly sidelined.
“We deeply respect the contribution of SHGs and cooks-cum-helpers who prepare meals for schools across the country. Our intention is not to displace them but to work alongside the government to ensure minimal disruption,” Venkat clarified adding, “We work without causing any inconvenience to anyone including the SHGs; and this is what we want to achieve.”
This Saligao facility will be Akshaya Patra’s 78th kitchen, marking its entry into Goa.
“The kitchen will cater to 2,500 students under Phase-1 with a capacity to serve 5,000 meals. As more schools come under our fold, we will scale up accordingly. The facility can produce 5,000 meals within three hours, and we can cook multiple times a day if required. During emergencies, we are also prepared to step in,” Venkat stated.
In line with Goa’s focus on local employment, the Foundation has begun recruiting locals for cooks, helpers and security personnel. The sanctioned strength, as per the Phase-1 operations, is 25 persons including 15 cooks-cum-helpers.
A standby team from Bengaluru will assist during the launch phase, but the local team will take over before April 1. A trial run of the cooked meals will be carried out soon after the launch. “All raw materials, including vegetables, will be procured locally. Most of our workforce will be Goan, and our head cook from Goa is already on board,” the CEO added.
The Foundation has assured that its meals will align with local tastes. The menu, decided by the State government, will feature a variety of dishes such as chapati, potato bhaji, vegetable korma, pulao, idli-sambar and more.
“Our priority is ensuring that meals are both nutritious and delicious. We are adhering to government norms while maintaining high standards… It will be a different menu each day. Students will savour it,” Venkat said promising maida-free food.
To enhance service quality, a daily feedback system from schools will be introduced from day one wherein insights from this mechanism will be used to refine operations and introduce improvements where needed.
