The Akshaya Patra Foundation, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has established the Akshaya Patra Research Laboratory to conduct comprehensive studies in advocacy for child food security, community participation for social welfare, eradication of malnutrition, policy development, and fight. hunger.
The Foundation aims to develop a knowledge epicenter with a think tank consisting of economists, philanthropists, research scientists, government officials and global institutions to build their efforts towards global advocacy and ending classroom hunger and malnutrition. .
Impact assessment of midday meals and developing socio-human models to produce scenarios that can lead to large-scale positive social impact are some of the laboratory’s long-term plans.
Anjula Gurtu, Chairperson, Center for Society and Policy at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, said, “The partnership with Akshaya Patra Foundation gives us an opportunity to serve the nation by using research-backed methods to address classroom hunger at the grassroots level. and provides opportunities. Level. Some of our young team of PhD scholars, professors and project collaborators are dedicated to working towards the development and advocacy of child food safety policy. The timing could not have been more accurate, given the manifold impact of the pandemic on health and nutrition. ,
Sridhar Venkat, CEO, Akshaya Patra Foundation said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has not only changed the way children learn and play, but also how they ate nutritious food.
“With IISc, we look forward to creating a country that has a journey to realize a hunger-free India where children do not need to labor before they eat, where children do not need to earn before they learn. Thus, the focus on research is more imperative than ever.”
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