Mumbai

International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), which provides mid-day meal free of cost to thousands of school children every day, today opened a state-of-the-art kitchen at the Municipal-run R N Cooper hospital here.

The ISKCON Food Relief Foundation’s Kitchen at Cooper Hospital in suburban Vile Parle was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, according to a press release.

This kitchen will make healthy and hygienic food for the patients of Cooper Hospital at subsidised rates, besides serving food to thousands of children free of cost in the mid-day meal programme.

The Government provides subsidy to ISKCON for supplying food to children.

ISKCON Spiritual Guru, Radhanath Swami said establishment of this kitchen at Cooper Hospital is one more step towards fulfilling ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupad’s dream of no one remaining hungry.

ISKCON s Food Relief Foundation, ‘Annamrita’, has been continually providing high-quality, healthy and hygienic meal every day to millions of children in the country, he said and thanked the Maharashtra government for supporting ISKCON in this project.

He also thanked the corporates and devotees who wholeheartedly contributed in this project.

The press release quoted “Annamrita” Director, Radhakrishna Das saying, “as of now, we cater to nearly 1.2 million meals daily to underprivileged children every day from our centres in Tardeo, Mira Bhayander, Palghar, Nigdi, Wada, Aurangabad, Gurgaon, Delhi, Faridabad, Kurukshetra, Palwal, Tirupati, Nellore, Rajahmundry, Kadapa, Ranga Nara Gadda, Jamshedpur, Jaipur, Kolkata and Ujjain.”

Most of these children come from slums and tribal areas. Everyday, 418 cooks prepare wholesome meals in 20 ‘Annamrita’ kitchens and 303 vehicles carry hope and promise to over a million children in 6566 schools across India,” he added.

The ISKCON Food Relief Foundation professionally manages Mid-day Meal Program with trained cooks using the most advanced technology, cooking under hygienic conditions in ISO certified kitchens and using fresh and pure ingredients besides following the FSSAI norms.

The meals are packed and sealed in specially designed stainless steel containers and are transported in vehicles most suited for the logistics, the release added.

PTI