By Ayesha Awate : Established in the year 2004, ‘Iskcon Food Relief Foundation’ is a reckoned NGO firm involved in offering Food and Education services for underprivileged children in the government schools. Our sole objective is to cater to two major problems that the country is facing: Hunger & Education. The extensive support of our sponsors HDFC Ltd, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Limited, Excel Corp Care Limited, G D Birla Medical Research and Educational Foundation and Hital R Meswani, to name a few, has enabled us to carry out these services. Mr. Dalip Tahil is the ambassador for our organization and has been representing us in all our ventures. We have carried out services for schools like Social Service League School, Seva Sadan School and Krantisingh Nana Patil School.
The food cooked in our kitchens is nutritious, hygienic and fresh. Practicing economies of scale, we cook food on large scale and hence the cost is Rs 4.50 per day. Since for some children, the meals we provide is the only food they intake in the entire day, we ensure that it fills their stomach and is sufficient for the entire day. Many government schools have witnessed a tremendous change in the health and attendance of the children. When we started the organization, we were providing this service to only 900 students and today we are providing meals to around 27,000 children. We are also providing our services in schools near Mumbai such as Wada and Palghar.
The noble initiative was started by ‘Mr. Ravi Khatanhar’. He has been heading all the daily activities of the organization and is the National Managing Program Director for Mid Day Meal project. His commitment towards society and dedication level is appreciative.