To address the ongoing nutritional issue of children in rural pockets attending school with an empty stomach, Sri Madhusudan Sai initiated the unique morning nutrition programme in 2012 and later established the Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust in November 2015 with the vision of “Let no child go to school hungry, ever!”.

Under His able guidance, the Trust worked on the model of sarkārā (Government), samājā (Society) and sansthān ( NGOs / Trusts). Partnerships with many Governments, including that of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry have been established and many more State Governments are following suit. All these activities are being carried out everyday under Sadguru’s all encompassing vision to embrace humanity, along with the untiring efforts of the volunteers, teachers and many others who are very fortunate to be a part of this noble cause of nourishing the nation, and beyond.

The COVID pandemic has led to expanding the scope of Annapoorna from just providing breakfast to children, to ensuring that the whole family of these children are taken care of, especially in those cases where the families are unable to access the government-provided relief materials for various technical reasons. Annapoorna volunteers across several regions have done yeoman service by identifying needy families and delivering a whole month’s ration to families consistently until their situation stabilises.

The simplest way to secure a healthy future for a nation is to invest in the nation’s children.  Sadly, child malnutrition is a haunting reality in India. The Annapoorna Morning Nutrition Programme is working towards alleviating hunger and undernourishment in rural and underprivileged school-going children by providing them with a nutritious breakfast.

Providing breakfast may be a simple concept but it has a far-reaching impact. Annapoorna has been a fortunate witness to the transformative power of this breakfast programme. Higher attendance, lower dropout rates, improved health parameters, marked increase in academic performance and attentiveness – and the list goes on. But the most gratifying impact of the breakfast programme has been the transformation it has kindled in children.

While the work of Annapoorna spans across nutrition, health, water and sanitation, the unifying focus remains the child’s well-being. Setting a child on a holistic path with good daily nutrition, and the ability to attend and succeed in school is a collective social responsibility, and one, which will go a long way in nation building. It is the dream of Annapoorna Breakfast Programme to build a nation, where no child goes to school hungry, EVER!