Akshaya Patra Foundation's Kitchen in Varanasi Sponsored by WestBridge Capital

Kitchen Will Provide Midday Meals to 100,000 Students Every Day

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Aug 01, 2018, 06:00 ET

STONEHAM, Mass., Aug. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- WestBridge Capital ("WestBridge"), an investment firm focused on India, has become the Sole Corporate Sponsor of the Akshaya Patra Foundation kitchen in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The Uttar Pradesh Government is also a major partner in the building of the kitchen. Once fully commissioned in early 2019, this kitchen will provide midday meals to 100,000 students serving designated schools within a radius of 40kms.

WestBridge manages $2.8 billion of capital and focuses on making long-term investments in high-quality businesses in India. WestBridge's investors consist predominantly of top university endowments and foundations.

WestBridge's Managing Director Sumir Chadha could not be more satisfied with the partnership stating, "Akshaya Patra is the type of organization that corporations want to partner with. With a mission to solve some of our time's greatest challenges – nutritious food and access to education in India – they have a proven track record of meeting goals through efficient and best-practice operations, quality assurance and innovative partnerships. We are proud to give back to the community through our partnership with Akshaya Patra."

Narayan Murthy, co-founder of Infosys and an advisory board member of the Akshaya Patra Foundation USA, said, "It is notable that companies like WestBridge are vastly invested in not just giving back, but also are mindful that their CSR funds go towards bringing about exponential and lasting change by building kitchens that serve millions of meals to school children every year."

The organization began feeding 1,500 children every day in 2000 and currently feeds over 1.7 million children in 14,125 government schools daily through a network of 37 ISO standard centralized kitchens in 12 states. Its mission is to reach five million children every day by 2020. With a history of frugal innovation, the capacity to scale, and maximize the value of partnerships, it is poised to succeed. Vandana Tilak, CEO of the Akshaya Patra Foundation, expressing her gratitude for WestBridge's vision said, "We take our work very seriously. This is not charity - it is a child's right to have access to good nutrition. We thank the Uttar Pradesh Government and WestBridge for taking action towards bringing nutritious food to the classrooms."

To learn more about The Akshaya Patra Foundation and WestBridge Capital, please visit their websites:

Akshaya Patra - USA https://www.foodforeducation.org

WestBridge Capital - http://westbridgecap.com/

Related Links

https://www.foodforeducation.org

SOURCE Akshaya Patra USA