The Akshaya Patra Foundation UK

Who we are

About the Akshaya Patra movement

Akshaya Patra provides hot and nutritious vegetarian meals in places of education, giving disadvantaged children a powerful incentive to attend school, the energy to learn, and the opportunity to break free from poverty.

What began as a small seed of hope in 2000, feeding just 1,500 children in Bengaluru, India, has grown into a flourishing tree with many branches.

Today, 25 years on – with support from all over the world – Akshaya Patra nourishes 2.35 million children across India every school day and is sowing seeds of change in the UK too.

Our vision is a world where no child is deprived of education because of poverty and hunger.

Our mission is to build a movement of people who – working together with compassion, generosity and determination – will ensure a growing number of disadvantaged children can eat well, make the most of their education, and realise their full potential free from poverty and hunger.

Our name Akshaya Patra (pronounced Ak·shy·uh Pa·truh) is a beautiful Sanskrit phrase drawn from Hindu scripture which means ‘inexhaustible vessel’ or ‘limitless pot of food’. Yet the flow of nourishment from Akshaya Patra’s ‘vessel’ can only remain truly inexhaustible – day after day, lesson after lesson – thanks to the unwavering generosity of our donors, supporters, and volunteers.

About Akshaya Patra in the UK

For 25 years, Akshaya Patra has nourished children in India, attracting millions into the classroom and helping them learn. After years of raising funds from generous British donors for this work – with Akshaya Patra UK having been established for this sole purpose in 2007 – we could not ignore rising child poverty and educational inequality in the UK.

In 2020, Akshaya Patra UK inaugurated our movement’s first international kitchen in Watford, initially focused on combating holiday hunger in deprived London boroughs. In 2024, we established a new UK programme which, alongside expanding our support to Indian children, has become our core focus: Empower Hour.

Empower Hour is Akshaya Patra’s award-winning after-school programme, providing nutritious meals and targeted tuition to the UK’s most disadvantaged children. Each session extends the school day by 60 minutes, giving children a hot, healthy meal from Akshaya Patra and extra tuition and enrichment delivered by their trusted teachers.

Empower Hour is on the frontline of child poverty. We prioritise schools with high levels of free school meal eligibility and those serving communities in the most deprived 10% nationally.

The programme is a bridge – spanning the gaps poverty has widened. It bridges the hunger and nutrition gap with hot and healthy meals, the attainment gap with targeted tuition, and the opportunity gap by giving children access to enriching experiences they would otherwise be denied.

What sparked to life in one school in 2024 is now lighting up ten – and this is just the beginning. With more partnerships and greater support, we can scale Empower Hour to reach thousands more children across the UK's most underprivileged communities.

Joining Akshaya Patra UK now means helping shape a growing movement as it enters a bold new phase – expanding its impact for children in India, the UK, and potentially other countries in due course.

Our culture and values

Our values

It is essential that all staff at Akshaya Patra actively embody our values, which are outlined below. Our professional employees are privileged to steward and facilitate a mission sustained by both providence and the freely given kindness of others. Our paid staff will always serve with humility, integrity and accountability, treating every gift entrusted to their care – however large or small – with gratitude and respect.

Integrity – the power of honesty

We behave ethically and tell the truth. We align our actions with our words and deliver what we promise.

Compassion – the power of understanding

We treat others with kindness, patience and empathy. We respect the dignity of every human being.

Devotion – the power of commitment

We embrace the duty, privilege and vocation of our mission. We are dedicated and faithful to those we serve.

Quality – the power of excellence

We set high standards and achieve ambitious goals. We are efficient, innovative and always seeking to improve.

Synergy – the power of working together

We believe everyone has something special to contribute. We value the diversity of perspectives in our team.

Trustworthiness – the power of reliability

We are accountable, transparent and committed to good stewardship. We have the courage to do the right thing.