Nourishing futures: A OneAdvanced experience with Akshaya Patra Foundation

We witnessed this impact firsthand during a recent visit to the Akshaya Patra Foundation, gaining insight into how meals are prepared at scale and delivered efficiently to schools daily. It showed us how, in its own small way, our partnership with the Foundation contributed to reducing classroom hunger and enabling education, bringing our commitment to reducing inequalities and building a fairer, more inclusive society to life.

About the Akshaya Patra Foundation

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one of the largest NGO-run school meal providers, headquartered in Bengaluru. Guided by its vision that no child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger, it implements the PM POSHAN (Mid-Day Meal) Programme, providing fresh, nutritious meals to over 2.35 million school children every day across 25,000+ government and government-aided schools.

Globally, nearly one in four children under five lives in severe food poverty, and in India over 40 million children are unable to pursue education. Hunger and malnutrition impair concentration and learning outcomes, denying millions of children the chance to learn, grow, and succeed. Through the simple act of serving one wholesome mid-day meal, the Akshaya Patra Foundation is actively addressing both malnutrition and educational barriers, making a real difference in children’s lives.

The programme has helped boost school enrolment, attendance, retention, and learning outcomes, while quietly supporting families by taking care of at least one nutritious meal for their child each day.

With over 4 billion meals served and a goal of serving 6 million meals every day by 2030, it remains committed to helping millions of young learners break the cycle of hunger and poverty.

Inside the Kitchens where food shapes futures

While the Foundation’s scale is impressive in numbers, it is only inside the kitchens, where thousands of meals are prepared with care every hour, that the true magnitude of its work becomes real.

The OneAdvanced team, including CEO Simon Walsh and Chief People Officer Katie Obi, had the opportunity to witness this firsthand during their visit to the Akshaya Patra Foundation’s Chikkajala kitchen in Bengaluru. They were joined by Senior Director Richard Smith and members of the CSR leadership and core committee for a comprehensive live tour, experiencing the energy, precision, and care that bring thousands of meals from kitchen to classroom each day.

At 7 am, the team arrived to find the kitchens alive with activity, taking in the sights, sounds, and energy of meals being prepared at an incredible scale. Walking through the space, it was inspiring to see how the Foundation’s state-of-the-art infrastructure and technology-driven processes combine automation, streamlined workflows, and strict quality controls to prepare large volumes of food efficiently, without ever compromising hygiene, safety, or quality.

From mechanised cooking systems and conveyor-enabled movement of vessels to carefully monitored food handling practices, every step reflected the Foundation’s deep commitment to consistency, safety, and efficiency.

Experiencing the operation up close revealed how human effort and technology can work together to deliver meaningful, large-scale social impact.

A partnership rooted in shared values

Guided by our Bettering Society ethos, OneAdvanced is committed to delivering positive societal impact, a commitment reflected in how we do business responsibly, invest in communities, and support education and charitable initiatives. The Foundation’s work embodies these same values.

By nourishing children, supporting education, and combining sustainability with technology, the Foundation delivers impact that touches all four of our guiding pillars: better for our planet, better for our people, better technology, and better business.

Aligned with this shared mission, we supported the Foundation’s work by providing 230,000 mid-day meals over 365 days, ensuring 1,000 school children in Bengaluru had at least one nutritious meal every school day. Given our operational presence in Bengaluru, supporting the local community through the Foundation’s work was a meaningful way to put our values into action.

From kitchen to classroom: serving more than just food

As the vans loaded with freshly prepared meals departed for schools, Katie and Simon headed to Somasandrapalya Government School, participating in the outreach programme. It was a full-circle moment for us, returning to a school where OneAdvanced had previously supported the construction of modern toilet facilities under its 2024 CSR commitment.

Joined by colleagues from our Bengaluru office, everyone pitched in to serve the freshly prepared meals. Seeing the children with plates full of food and beaming smiles was the perfect way to see the kitchen's efforts meet their true purpose.

The team spent the day singing, chatting, and sharing laughter with the children, walking away with a renewed appreciation for how collective effort can better lives.

Reflecting on the visit, Katie said, “The visit to the superbly well-run kitchens providing nutritious hot meals for school children across the state and nation (helping to tackle both hunger and encourage wider participation in education) was so impressive, and it was so touching to visit the school to see their joy in education, and how much they appreciate both the food and the clean bathroom facilities they now have. I am so proud to be part of a company that has contributed to this.”

Experiences like this highlight the difference purposeful action can make, and the ways in which OneAdvanced is contributing to bettering society.