Bengaluru: 25th May, 2022: In a bid to fight the global issue of child malnutrition, Gemini Edibles & Fats India Limited (GEF India) has donated a delivery vehicle to The Akshaya Patra Foundation in Bengaluru. The collaboration will support the NGO’s mission to eliminate child malnutrition in India and help transport nutritious mid-day meals to government schools in the region.

The vehicle that will be part of Akshaya Patra’s Hare Krishna Hill kitchen in Bengaluru will help the NGO deliver 5,000 meals each day to over 1 lakh children.

In 2020-21, GEF India partnered with Akshaya Patra to provide mid-day meals by donating six delivery vehicles. Reiterating their mission of eradicating child malnutrition, in the last one year, both organisations have joined hands again with GEF India donating five more vehicles in various regions including Hare Krishna Hill and Jigani in Karnataka and Mangalagiri in Andhra Pradesh.

The delivery vehicle donated to Hare Krishna Hill was flagged off in Bengaluru on 18th May 2022 in the presence of Mr. Prasanna, ASM – Karnataka, Gemini Edibles & Fats India Limited and Ms. Rajini Sinha, Regional Director, The Akshaya Patra Foundation.

“We, at Gemini, firmly believe that ‘Food is a fundamental human right’ and hence strive to work towards fulfilling this responsibility towards the society we live in. We are elated to join hands with The Akshaya Patra Foundation for the noble cause of providing nutritious meals to underprivileged students across India. We are donating delivery vehicles to reiterate our partnership with the Foundation and reach the larger goal of eliminating child malnutrition. This is our bit in giving back to the society.”

Mr. P. Chandra Shekhara Reddy, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Freedom Healthy Cooking Oils,

“For 21 years now, we’ve served nutritious meals to children with an aim to eradicate classroom hunger. Our missions that no child should be deprived of education due to hunger can only be achieved via such partnerships. This collaboration with GEF India will go a long way in expanding the reach of Akshaya Patra’s meals to thousands more students in Bengaluru.”

Mr. Sundeep Talwar, CMO, The Akshaya Patra Foundation,

About GEF India (Freedom Healthy Cooking Oils):

‘Freedom’ is the Flagship brand of Gemini Edibles & Fats India Limited (GEF India). Freedom Healthy Cooking Oil Range is available as Freedom Refined Sunflower Oil, Freedom Physically Refined Rice Bran Oil, Freedom Kachi Ghani Mustard Oil, and Freedom Groundnut Oil.

‘Freedom’ brand was launched in 2010 in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

Freedom Rice Bran Oil: It was launched in 2015 in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

‘Freedom’ was ranked among the top five cooking oil brands in India according to the India Today ‘Ipsos Urban Consumer Sentiment Survey 2020’.

About The Akshaya Patra Foundation

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that strives to address classroom hunger and malnutrition in India. By implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Government and Government-aided schools, Akshaya Patra aims to fight hunger and, at the same time, bring children to school. Since 2000, Akshaya Patra has worked towards reaching out to children with wholesome food every single school day. The Foundation is continuously leveraging technology to cater to millions of children. Its state-of-the-art kitchens have become a subject of study and attract curious visitors from around the world.

Being the implementing partner of the government of India’s school lunch programme, the organization has been instrumental in reforming policies pertaining to the scheme, improving the nutritional value for the beneficiaries under the programme.

As the implementing partner of the Government of India’s flagship school feeding programme, through its relentless commitment to creating a secure and educated future, The Akshaya Patra Foundation has grown from serving just 1,500 children in 5 schools in 2000 to over 1.8 million children in 19,039 government and government-aided schools from its 61 kitchens across 14 States and 2 Union Territories.

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