Bengaluru, May 2022: Union Bank of India, as a part of its CSR initiative, has donated two customised food delivery vehicles to The Akshaya Patra Foundation for feeding nutritious and hygienic meals to over 5,000 children every day.
The vehicles were flagged off at the foundation’s kitchen in Rajajinagar, Bangalore, by Shri Nitesh Ranjan, Executive Director, Union Bank of India, and Acharya Ratna Dasa, General Manager, The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Mr. Alok Kumar, Field General Manager, Bangalore and other officials of Union Bank of India were also present at the event.
The vehicles will be used at the NGO’s kitchen in Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh that serves over 12,500 government school children.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Nitesh Ranjan, Executive Director, Union Bank of India, said, “Union Bank has always strived towards the country’s progress. While we are making progress with respect to economic growth of the country, issues like hunger, malnutrition, food insecurity persist. Until a fundamental need like access to food and education is not met, we cannot sustain growth. Organizations like Akshaya Patra are making a commendable contribution to this effect. By partnering with Akshaya Patra in their efforts, we hope we are making a difference to the lives of thousands of children.”
Acknowledging the support, Acharya Ratna Dasa, General Manager, The Akshaya Patra Foundation said, “We are thrilled about this partnership with Union Bank of India and immensely grateful to them for donating the two new delivery vehicles. Our collaboration with Union Bank of India for the school feeding programme started 13 years ago and has just strengthened with time. We hope it will continue to flourish as we believe that such partnerships play a crucial role in helping us reach out to over 1.8 million children across the country every school day.”
He further added, “We are also thankful to the Ministry of Education, Government of India and respective State Governments for providing us the opportunity to serve the children.”
Union Bank of India has been supporting Akshaya Patra’s Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Programme for the last 13 years.