Become a Corporate Partner
Akshaya Patra UK loves to collaborate with brands and businesses which share our belief in the fundamental right to education, are champions of the power of good nutrition, and recognise the importance of breaking the cycle of poverty for those who are disadvantaged and in need.
Partnering with us can take many different forms, some of which are outlined below, but please contact us to discuss how we can work together in a way which is bespoke to your organisation, mutually beneficial, and makes a meaningful difference to the children and communities Akshaya Patra exists to serve.
The involvement of your company in Akshaya Patra’s mission can make a significant contribution to your business’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) objectives.
Partnership Options
- 1. ONE FOR ONE
‘One for one’ refers to a product-based partnership where, for every sale of a particular item, your company donates a nutritious meal for a child in need. This has proved particularly popular with restaurants and food businesses who can market this initiative to their customers as ‘a meal for a meal’, but we are open to discussing all kinds of product-linked donation initiatives, including those based on a workable percentage within your company’s particular product margins.
- 2. POINT OF SALE OF MICRO-DONATIONS
We can work with you to give your customers the option to donate some pennies to Akshaya Patra when paying for their goods or services, as an automatic part of the card payment process. Since it costs just 6p to provide a nutritious meal for a child in India, it’s easy to demonstrate the power that just a few pence added to the bill can do for hungry kids in need of support.
- 3. PITCH IN FOR A KITCHEN
Akshaya Patra’s kitchen facilities, both in India and the UK, are central to our ability to provide thousands of children with healthy and nutritious meals in a way which is scalable, cost-effective, and adheres to the highest standards of food quality and safety. The vast majority of our kitchens could only have been established thanks to the hugely generous and significant financial support of either corporate or foundation partners.
- 4. GIFTS IN KIND
Several organisations choose to donate their goods or services to Akshaya Patra on a pro bono or ‘in kind’ basis. This can range from such things as consultancy advice or technological systems to support our organisational development, to kitchen equipment or food product donations to directly reduce the cost of delivering our feeding programmes.
- 5. INSPIRED EMPLOYEES
We are always very happy to send an inspiring speaker to tell our story as part of a company’s ‘lunch and learn’ series. We can also work with you to develop tailored volunteering opportunities, fundraising challenges and kitchen tours for your employees. Please consider selecting us as your business’s ‘Charity of the Year’ and let us know if you would be keen to set up payroll giving.
DISHOOM’S 15 MILLION MEALS AND COUNTING
Shamil Thakrar is the co-founder of Dishoom, the award-winning restaurant group. For every lunch or dinner eaten at each of its 10 Bombay-inspired cafés, Dishoom generously donates one school lunch to a child in India. An incredible 15 million meals have already been served thanks to the Dishoom/Akshaya Patra partnership.
Shamil says: “Dishoom works with Akshaya Patra because we genuinely feel it is the right thing to do. There are hundreds of thousands of children in India for whom hunger is a seemingly immovable and unrelenting barrier to education. This feels deeply unfair and, frankly, plain wrong.
“The meals Akshaya Patra provides are truly life-changing – they help offer children the invaluable opportunity to learn, to progress, and to support their families out of poverty. We couldn’t be prouder to be supporting Akshaya Patra in its mission to end hunger as a barrier to education for children in India.
“Knowing that we have already helped serve millions of meals to children through Akshaya Patra is simply awesome and we’re looking forward to helping serve many more.”