Food and Education – they’re best friends!

Young Sathiyasri is a Year 8 student from Puducherry, nestled in Southern Tamil Nadu. She doesn’t dream of becoming a film star or a doctor, the kind of dreams that often dominate school essays for a growing up secondary school pupil. Instead, Sathiyasri wants to become a criminal lawyer. Her inspiration? A gripping crime thriller she watched on television. PS: India produces nearly 2000 films each year in over 20 languages. “The way the lawyer in the film used logic and tactics to solve cases fascinated me. I want to fight for justice and stand up for what’s right,” said Sathiyasri. For a girl from a modest household, her father, Sivagnanam, drives a cab, and her mother, Manimagalai, works as a house-help –this ambition stands out not only for its uniqueness but also for the rare support she receives at home. Her parents don’t just send her to school. They encourage her dreams. This kind of encouragement is still a luxury for many children in rural India, especially girls.

In many homes, when there’s a choice between sending a boy or a girl to school, it’s often the boy who wins. The girl is expected to stay home, help with chores, and learn how to make perfect rotis. That’s how generations of girls have been denied their right to education – quietly, and often unquestioned. But something has shifted over the last 2 decades. There’s been a subtle, yet powerful movement taken very strong roots. Girls like Sathiyasri are beginning to argue that they must go to school. Their reason is simple, and yet compelling: “There’s a hot, tasty, full meal at school every day. I’m going to eat. And, by the way, I’ll get an education too.”

That meal is doing much more than filling hungry stomachs. The sound of the school bell at lunchtime carries deep meaning at more than 24,000 schools across India, where food charity Akshaya Patra serves hot and healthy meals. For more than 2.2 million children, it is a call for more than just food. It is an invitation to access education and a path out of poverty.

In the year 2000, Akshaya Patra began its journey in Bengaluru (many like me may still refer to the city as Bangalore!), serving freshly prepared meals to 1,500 children in five nearby government schools. At the time, it was a humble beginning, born from a desire to ensure that no child would be deprived of an education because of hunger. The logic was simple: if hunger was keeping children away from school, why not bring them in with a meal?

And it worked.

Word spread from village to village – “there’s a school nearby where you food and learning is being served, free.” Enrolments started increasing. Dropout rates began to fall. Children who would otherwise be forced into child labour to earn a meal were instead sitting in classrooms, eating with their peers, and dreaming beyond their circumstances.

Today, 25 years later, Akshaya Patra runs the world’s largest NGO-led school meals programme in a single country, serving over 2.25 million children every school day across India. The numbers are staggering, but behind each plate of food is a personal story of transformation – like Sathiyasri’s.

My own journey with Akshaya Patra began more than a decade ago, not as a director, but as a curious journalist. It was 2012, and I was based in Bengaluru, working on a story about large-scale food systems. I had heard about Akshaya Patra’s kitchens and decided to investigate how an NGO was managing to feed millions every day, with such precision.

What I saw changed me. It also changed my relationship with food.

I visited one of their massive kitchens. Spotless, buzzing with activity, and functioning like a well-oiled machine. Huge cauldrons of rice and sambar simmered away as teams packed thousands of meals into insulated steel containers, ready to be dispatched. I then visited a government school that received those meals. The sight that greeted me was unforgettable. A group of cheerful children, sitting in neat rows, laughing, chatting, and eagerly eating their lunch. Many of them told me that this was their only full meal of the day. For some, it was the reason they came to school.

Until that point, food, at least in my life, had always been about pleasure. I’ve always considered myself a foodie. I’ve relished trying new cuisines, cooking elaborate meals, and discussing flavours with friends. But food, to me, was just joy. It wasn’t necessity. It wasn’t a tool. That day, everything changed.

I realised that food, in the right context, could be a game-changer. It could open doors to education, empowerment, and equality. For children from low-income families, especially girls, food is more than sustenance. It’s an invitation to a better life.

That’s why, today, I see food as a powerful tool. One that can break cycles of poverty and rebuild hope. Akshaya Patra’s work sits at the intersection of nutrition and education, making it possible for children not just to dream, but to pursue those dreams with energy and dignity.

In 2020, we took our first international step by opening a kitchen in Watford, just north of London. Even here in the UK, the link between food and learning remains strong. Thousands of children go to school hungry, and their ability to learn is affected. Our Hot Meals and Homework programme in the UK is a direct response to this challenge, combining food with after-school support to help close the attainment gap.

Whether it’s a village in Tamil Nadu or a school in London, the truth is that food and education are best friends. And together, they can transform lives.

Radhika Iyer serves Akshaya Patra’s mission as the Director of Communications and Supporter Engagement in the UK. To reach Radhika, please email: radhika.iyer@akshayapatra.org.uk 

To learn about Akshaya Patra: www.akshayapatra.org.uk