The famous fast-food chain McDonald’s once used to have signs outside its restaurants boasting “One Billion Served”.
Indian non-profit organisation The Akshaya Patra Foundation claims to have served over 4bn meals, although unlike Mcdonald’s, which charges people for meals of dubious nutritional value, it serves nourishing lunches to rural school children, and it does that for free.
BW LPG India, the nation’s largest owner and operator of VLGCs supplies about 25% of India’s LPG supply needs, has supported Akshaya Patra since late 2023 as the energy partner for nine central kitchens in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Within four months, this alliance facilitated the preparation of approximately 12m midday meals distributed to children from over 2,200 schools.
The Indian subsidiary of New York and Oslo-listed BW LPG has since expanded the partnership.
The company revealed to TradeWinds this week that it recently undertook the construction of dining sheds in Bikaner, Rajasthan, enhancing the dining infrastructure for children at two schools.
The partnership has also extended to humanitarian efforts, with BW LPG India contributing to the provision of relief kits for 15 to 16 days for 1,667 families affected by floods in Assam.
Additionally, a pilot project is underway to convert a briquette boiler to an LPG boiler for a kitchen serving midday meals to 580 rural schools in Odisha.
And BW LPG India has agreed to do more. It has signed on to build three additional kitchens that will result in the provision of 42.7m more midday meals.
BW LPG chairman Kristian Sorensen said the Akshaya Patra collaboration signifies a strengthening commitment towards improving children’s nutrition and educational outcomes across India.
Sorensen said: “BW LPG India’s corporate purpose is to deliver energy for a better world, and it has been very rewarding to be the energy partner for the Akshaya Patra Foundation.
“With our specialisation in delivering LPG into India, we want to support Akshaya Patra’s energy needs in their central kitchens as they deliver midday meals to children.
“When we join forces, we can transform lives with energy.”
Dhananjay Ganjoo, Akshaya Patra’s chief resource mobilisation and marketing officer, described the foundation’s collaboration with BW LPG India as “transformational not only in scale but also in the sustainability of our operations”.
He added: “Their [BW LPG India] continued support underlines a shared vision for a healthier, better-educated generation. The upcoming projects in Odisha, introducing greener, LPG-powered kitchen equipment, mark a significant leap towards environmentally sustainable meal production.”
The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that strives to address classroom hunger and malnutrition.
Since 2000, the foundation has been dedicated to providing children with nutritious meals every school day. It currently serves daily lunches to over 2.2m children across more than 23,000 schools in 16 states and two union territories in India.
