The narrator visits India's largest kitchen in Bangalore, run by the Akshaya Patra Foundation, which provides free meals to 200,000 school children daily. The kitchen produces 90,000 lunches in just three to four hours, using a centralized system with giant cooking vessels and insulated containers. The food is cooked to 90 degrees Celsius to ensure safety and is served in schools, where it has increased enrollment and improved student performance. The narrator joins a school lunch and tries the food, which is a sweet rice and lentil dish, and is impressed by the flavors and the efficient system. The foundation relies on donations and aims to provide nutritious meals to children across India.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is feeding millions of children each day in 12 different states across India.
2. The foundation has a mega kitchen in Bangalore that cooks 90,000 lunches for school kids in just three to four hours.
3. The kitchen uses giant cooking vessels that can cook 1,000 meals in just 15 minutes.
4. The food is cooked to 90 degrees Celsius to kill all bacteria.
5. The shipping vessels are washed twice and steam cleaned before receiving the food.
6. Hair nets, aprons, and gloves are worn by staff to prevent human contact with the food.
7. A sample is taken from each batch of food for lab testing if necessary.
8. The foundation has served up three billion meals, nearly enough to feed half the world's population.
9. The kitchen is a centralized kitchen that cooks large quantities of food and delivers it to schools.
10. The foundation has been doing this for 18 years.
11. The kitchen cooks food with a rice or lentil base, which is easier to cook at scale.
12. The food is transported to schools in insulated containers to keep it warm.
13. The lunch program has increased enrollment in schools and improved kids' performance in the classroom.
14. The foundation is supported by business houses, corporations, foundations, and individuals.
15. The Bangalore kitchen serves a population of 12 million people.
16. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is the world's largest non-government organization.
17. The foundation's mission is to ensure that no child in India is deprived of education because of hunger.
18. The lunch program provides a nutritious meal to children, which may be the only meal they eat all day in some parts of India.