Akshaya Chaitanya Serves Nutritious Meals From Its State-of-the-art Kitchen

By Author: Santha Sikha
Total Articles: 6
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Every morning, a team of dedicated staff step into a state-of-the-art kitchen facility to prepare 300 kgs rice, 200 kgs dal, and 250 kgs sabzi. And each day, this team comes back with added enthusiasm because for them, this is not a mere job, it is a service to the society! Wondering, who they are? This is the team you will meet at Akshaya Chaitanya’s Byculla kitchen in Mumbai.

Akshaya Chaitanya is an NGO in Mumbai providing free, nutritious food every day to underprivileged people in the city’s government hospitals and to migrant school-going children. Currently, the NGO implements two programmes – Hospital Feeding Programme and School Meal Programme.

The Hospital Feeding Programme caters to poor people in government hospitals. Each day, the NGO serves nutritious lunch to outpatients and family members of in-patients, free of cost. This programme is an attempt of Akshaya Chaitanya to support underprivileged people to save money for treatment without having to skip meals.

The School Meal Programme is Akshaya Chaitanya’s effort to ensure children from challenging backgrounds receive their ...
... share of nutritious meals daily. Through this programme, Akshaya Chaitanya upholds health and supports education of migrant children aged 6 to 14 years.
So far, this NGO in Mumbai has served a cumulative of 1,38,096 meals. It provides food to 1,880 beneficiaries everyday across 7 government hospitals and 3 School on Wheels.

Inside the kitchen of Akshaya Chaitanya
Being among non-profit organisations that are striving to make food security a reality, Akshaya Chaitanya is well-aware of its responsibility in providing the kind of food that’s nutritious, hygienic, and of highest quality. Hence, it follows a meticulous process in preparing the meals for its beneficiaries. The diligence of Akshaya Chaitanya’s team and the industry standard operating processes that they follow makes it one of the most credible charities to donate to.

Here is an overview of Akshaya Chaitanya’s food production process:

1.Adherence to Personal Hygiene: Personal hygiene and good health of food handlers are vital for a safe and contamination-free food production. So, each food handler in Akshaya Chaitanya undergoes adequate, appropriate, and up-to-date training on personal hygiene. Practice of frequent hand wash and sanitization, use of gloves and other protective safety gears is followed to ensure elimination of hazards in the processing cycle.

2.Procurement of Raw Materials: The quality of raw materials determines the nutrition and quality of cooked meals. So that the beneficiaries receive high-quality, wholesome meals, Akshaya Chaitanya actively complies and adheres to the norms stated by Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) during procurement of raw materials - grains, spices, and vegetables.

3.Storage: Raw materials are stored in a well-ventilated area, safe from rodents and pests. The process of labelling is followed to group and store allergen and non-allergen containing raw materials, along with manufacturing date to practice First in First Out (FIFO) issuance system. This ensures that the ingredients are not stored beyond their shelf-life and used in their prime to obtain all its nutritional value.

4.Sorting and Washing: Sorting and washing grains and vegetables is carried out to eliminate any foreign particles and pesticide residues (primarily in perishable raw materials). Grains are soaked and washed in potable water whereas vegetables are soaked and tumble washed with chlorine solution water (20 ppm) in the vegetable bubble washing machine for 2 cycles.

5.Issuance of raw material: This NGO in Mumbai takes care of serving high-quality, nutritious and tasty meals to its beneficiaries. Hence, every ingredient is accurately weighed as per the recipe and menu before issuing for production.

6.Sanitization & Steam Sterilisation of Equipment & Vessels: In order to prevent contamination, every equipment which comes in direct contact with food is washed with hot water (100° C) and steam sterilised prior to use – cutting vegetables, preparing food and packing meals.

7.Cooking: Quality control measures like temperature check, use of right quantity of ingredients, and similar measures are taken care of while preparing rice, dal, and sabji.

8.Packing & Loading: Hot cooked food is filled in steam sterilised, insulated food-grade containers. These packed containers are transferred to the loading bay through a gravity conveyor belt.

9.Delivery: Packed meals are then delivered to beneficiary government hospitals and School on Wheels in Akshaya Chaitanya’s own delivery vans.
Help Akshaya Chaitanya to feed more people in need
You have a chance today to make nutritious food accessible to underprivileged people. Don’t let it go! Support Akshaya Chaitanya in any of the below-mentioned ways and make a difference in the lives of the needy.

• Donate online
• Donate to mark a special occasion;
• Leverage your network by conducting a fundraiser; or
• Engage as a CSR partner.
Your contributions of ₹500 and above towards Akshaya Chaitanya are eligible for 80G deduction and the NGO will issue a donation tax exemption certificate for your contribution. Impact lives today! Contribute generously.