Chef Sanjeev Kapoor on Sharing his Strength to Help Feed Kids in India
For renowned Indian Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor it’s simple: whatever he has today is thanks to the power of sharing...
About This Episode
For renowned Indian Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor it’s simple: whatever he has today is thanks to the power of sharing. A household name in India with his own channel FoodFood, Chef Sanjeev is a Padma Shri Awardee, recipient of the Indian Government’s ‘Best Chef of India’ award, and many more accolades. But for him, it’s all about giving back to society; most notably, his work with Akshaya Patra, the world’s largest NGO-run mid-day meal program that serves lunch to more than 1.7 million children in India. In this Add Passion and Stir episode, we connect with Chef Kapoor to learn more about Akshaya Patra, how he found his way to food, and why he thinks the strength of Indian cuisine is in its complexity.Resources and Mentions:
Sanjeev Kapoor
Chef
Chef Sanjeev Kapoor has been a frontrunner in the field of gastronomy creating Indian and international cuisines in his inimitable easy going and cheery manner. He has his own channel FoodFood and is a Padma Shri Awardee, recipient of the ‘Best Chef of India’ award by the Government of India, has represented India at numerous international competitions, and is an author with more than 200 titles in 7 languages. Being a strong believer of giving back to the society, Chef Sanjeev is associated with Akshaya Patra – the world’s largest NGO run mid-day meal programme that serves wholesome school lunch to over 1.7 million children in 14,702 schools across 12 states in India.
Jeetu Jodhpurkar
Jeetu Jodhpurkar, Managing Director, International Strategy, oversees Share our Strength international strategy and is central to the organization’s work with Akshaya Patra. Before joining Share Our Strength, Jeetu served as the COO at Community Wealth Partners and held COO and VP positions at Washington Gas Energy Systems. Jeetu is passionate about expanding the bold vision of “school meals without borders” in Share Our Strength’s fight against child hunger.
Akshaya Patra
The Akshaya Patra Foundation strives to eliminate classroom hunger by implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in the government schools and government-aided schools. Akshaya Patra also works to address malnutrition and supporting the right to education of socio-economically disadvantaged children. Since 2000, Akshaya Patra has focused its efforts on providing fresh and nutritious meals to children on every single school day. The organization leverages technology to amplify their reach and their state-of-the-art kitchens have been studied for their efficient design and ability to produce nearly 100,000 meals per day. Today, Akshaya Patra is the world’s largest (not-for-profit run) Mid-Day Meal Programme serving wholesome food every school day to over two million children from 22,367 schools across 14 states and two (2) Union territories of India.
Related Episodes
Two Share Our Strength Alums Fighting for Girls and Animals
ASPCA’s Matt Bershadker and VOW for Girls’ Clay Dunn made an impact at Share Our Strength, and now they are...
Advocating for Social Justice for Native Americans
Originally recorded in December 2020, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Nicholas Kristof and Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health Co-Director Allison Barlow...
How America’s Grocery Giant Chose Ending Hunger As Its Cause
Albertsons Companies Foundation President and Executive Director Christy Duncan Anderson talks with Billy Shore and Lillian Singh about what the...