The Indian Government’s March 24th announcement of complete lockdown to contain the pandemic affected the lives of 1.3 billion people. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is working with the government, various agencies, donors, partners, and volunteers to provide food relief to vulnerable communities across India. We are currently operating in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, but are quickly working to include more states and provide more meals for those hit hardest by COVID-19.

The 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the state of hunger in India. Workers in the informal sector make up about 80% of the country’s labor force, and are now seeing rising levels of unemployment and sudden loss of income. The inability to procure food due to unemployment and disrupted supply chains or access to social welfare schemes have also left this population at higher risk. There is also a serious decrease in access to basic needs like clean water, sanitation, and healthcare. 

Our experience with food preparation and distribution, which includes our 55 kitchens in operation across India, has allowed us to quickly address the food crisis worsened due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Since the national lockdown March 24th, Akshaya Patra Foundation has served more than 3.5 million free meals to marginalized communities, consisting primarily of migrant and wage workers. In addition to warm meals, Akshaya Patra has distributed over 21,000 food kits — essential grocery boxes that can feed two people for 21 days.

Our heartfelt thank you to Shri. Narayan Murthy and Smt. Sudha Murthy for their personal donation of Rs. 10 crores for Covid-19. Other foundations and corporations have stepped up, and are helping to fund our work. But the work is not done yet.

We look towards you for funding support in this hour of need with individual contributions, corporate support, employee matching, and sharing our mission with your family and friends. Akshaya Patra is a trusted household name and your help in spreading the message is much appreciated.