Supply chain management and social enterprise towards zero hunger: the Akshaya Patra Foundation in India

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit social enterprise that provides a lunch program to schools across India. With funding and logistical support from local and state governments, Akshaya Patra seeks to eradicate malnutrition in 1.2 million underprivileged children (Garg et al. in Cases on supply chain and distribution management: issues and principles. IGI Global, Pennsylvania 2012). As a model social enterprise that relies on software applications and automated mechanisms, Akshaya Patra’s kitchen facilities mirror pioneering technologies, such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and Microsoft Dynamics. Two-fold distribution policies sit at the heart of its supply chains to counteract inefficiencies in mass meal production and delivery (Somashekar and Balasubramanian in Accenture Labs and Akshaya Patra use disruptive technologies to enhance efficiency in mid-day meal program for school children. Retrieved from https://www.akshayapatra.org/accenture-labs-and-akshaya-patra-use-disruptive-technologies-to-enhance-efficiency-in-midday-meal-program-for-school-children 2017). This corporate social responsibility (CSR) ethos creates a nexus between collective grassroots action, the traditional values of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and a more progressive India. The Foundation’s mission is to feed 5 million children by 2020 (Garg et al. in Cases on supply chain and distribution management: issues and principles. IGI Global, Pennsylvania 2012).