Akshaya Patra Foundation has appointed actor Sathyaraj's daughter Divya as its Goodwill Ambassador. With her staunch belief equating food to medicine, Divya Sathyaraj has been working as a professional nutritionist. She has been conducting workshops with children on the significance of vitamin therapy and nutrition. She has also conducted multiple workshops with children at refugee camps. During her school and college days, Ms Sathyaraj has actively participated as a volunteer for NGOs in Chennai. Currently, she is working on her book on food and nutrition.

Akshaya Patra, in its capacity as the implementing partner of the Government of India’s Mid-Day Meal Programme, has been working to increase the nutritional intake of children by providing them with a wholesome meal.

Speaking on the development, Mr Shridhar Venkat, CEO of Akshaya Patra, said, “It gives me immense pleasure to welcome Ms Sathyaraj as Akshaya Patra’s goodwill ambassador. Her participation is an expression of her interest to serve children. It has always been our attempt to encourage a young and skilled individual to support our cause with their talents. It is important to note that community involvement is essential when we are working to serve children across the country.  It is imperative that we, as conscious individuals do what we can, to improve the community and our society, and we are delighted to have Divya Sathyaraj with us. With her on board, we will be furthering our efforts to realise the twin objectives of spreading awareness about nutrition and enhancing the nutritional value of our mid-day meal,” he added.

On being appointed as the ambassador, Divya Sathyaraj said, “As a nutritionist, I strongly believe that a healthy diet will have a profound effect on a child’s well-being; a child’s body needs nutrition, not just food. Akshaya Patra has done incredible work to end classroom hunger. Leaders like President Barack Obama have appreciated the Foundation’s outstanding work in feeding children. I completely resonate with the vision and goals of Akshaya Patra and, I am truly honoured and privileged to be chosen as the organisation’s goodwill ambassador.”

About The Akshaya Patra Foundation

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Bengaluru, India, which strives to address issues like hunger and malnutrition in the country. 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 more children with wholesome food on 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.

In partnership with the Government of India and various State Governments and the inestimable support of many philanthropic donors and well-wishers, Akshaya Patra has grown from humble beginnings serving just 1,500 school children across 5 schools. Today, it is the world’s largest (not-for-profit run) mid-day meal programme, serving wholesome food to over 1.6 million children from 13,839 schools across 12 states in India.

For more details, please log on: www.akshayapatra.org