Frequently Asked Questions

Mid Day meals were started by the government, as an incentive to increase enrolment in schools, reduce dropout rates and tackle the issue of classroom hunger. The aim is to give children a healthy education and reduce child labour and guarantee a nutritious and sanctified meal daily. Ultimately, a healthy and educated future generation.

IFRF is a non-religious, non-sectarian, not for profit charitable organisation registered with the Charity Commissioner Mumbai

The genesis of ISKCON Food Relief Foundation dates back to 1974, when Srila Prabhupada noticed a group of village children fighting with street dogs over scraps of food, shocked and saddened by what he saw, he turned to his disciples and said, “No one within a ten mile radius of our temples should go hungry”. Being inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s vision, IFRF partnered with the Government of India when they launched a strategic program in 1994 called the Midday Meal Scheme to fight two of the most pressing problems of India – hunger and illiteracy, ISKCON Food Relief Foundation saw a great opportunity to support by providing children with the right nutrition to supplement their education and attract them to school.

A Name of Trust: ISKCON Food Relief Foundation
Registered Office: Hare Krishna Land, Juhu, Mumbai 400049
Head Office: 7 K M Munshi Marg, Girgaum Chowpatty, Mumbai 400007
Admin Office: 19 Jaywant Industrial Estate, 63 Tardeo Road, Tardeo Mumbai 400034

Mr. Kushal N. Desai

Mr. Yogesh Chadha

Mr. Sanjiv Maheshwari

Mr. Kunjan Gandhi

Mr. Sanjay Tikku

Mr. Rajendra Kumar Pujari

H.G. P. Satya Gopinath Das

H.G. Rishi Kumara Das

Mr. Sandeep Gupta

Dr. Ravindra Khatanhar
Mr. Yogesh Chadha
Mr. Kushal Desai

Sr. No.	Branch	State	Branch Manager	Contacts
1	Mira Road	Maharastra	Mr. Sunil Perti	28455357
2	Wada	Maharastra	Mr. Ganesh Nakhate	0252-6695677
3	Palghar	Maharastra	Mr. Raju Nair	0252-5240774 / 0252-6695677
4	Tardeo	Maharastra	Mr. Yashwant Shetty	022-23531530
5	Nigdi	Maharastra	Mr. Mahendra Subedi	02064102683
6	Aurangabad	Maharastra	Mr. Sudarshan Potbhare	9619864055
7	Faridabad	Haryana	Mr. Joginder Pradhan	9312931093
8	Palwal	Haryana	Mr. Narayana Jena	9467609990
9	Gurgaon	Haryana	Mr. Jayant Ghulati	9215839802
10	Kurukshetra	Haryana	Mr. Balwan Singh	9215839815
11	Tirupati	Andhra Pradesh	HG Vakreshwar Govinda das	07799747518
12	Kadapa	Andhra Pradesh	Rupeshwar Chaitanya Das	7799747512
13	Rajhamundry	Andhra Pradesh	Mr. Shrinivas Rao	9295010006
14	Nellore	Andhra Pradesh	H.H. Shukadev Goswami	9052819090
15	Ranganarra Gadda	Andhra Pradesh	HG Vakreshwar Govinda das	07799747518
16	Jaipur	Rajasthan	Mr. Sanjeet Sharma	9718135232
17	Delhi	Delhi	Mr. Murlidhar Hemrajani	9871233026
18	Jamshedpur	Jharkhand	Mr. Shanto Samir Chatterjee	9873009943
19	Kolkata	West Bengal	H. G. Dauji Kripa Das	9230047238

Auditors : Girish Watwe & Associates
Legal Advisor : Abhay Ahuja & Associates

1) Maharashtra
2) Delhi
3) Haryana
4) Jharkhand
5) Andhra Pradesh
6) Rajasthan
7) West Bengal

More than 9,86,304 students are benefitted every day. 12 lakh meals served daily across India.

7 Kitchens
1725 schools
2,80,587 meals everyday
99 Vans
4500 Kms everyday

Annamrita is a strategic project which helps the Government to resolve two interrelated problems namely Malnutrition and Illiteracy. Our centralized hi-tech ISO certified kitchens are technology intensive models that can be efficiently scaled and replicated. The project is transparent, professionally managed, run by a board of trustees with the support of the Advisory Committee and Steering Committee formed by corporate heads and experts in various fields. Annamrita also provides tax exemption to its donors as well as FCRA facility for overseas donors

The menu is prescribed by the Government. It consists of rice based preparations in most of the regions and additionally wheat based preparations in Northern India. Dishes include, sambhar khichdi, moong dal khichdi, pulao, mixed vegetables, Chapati Bhaji, Puri Bhaji, idlis etc. We serve 6 different dishes, 6 days of the week.

The reports issued by the Govt on the basis of independent studies carried out from time to time to assess the impact have shown that some of the quantifiable benefits are in terms of increased enrolment of children in school, enhanced classroom performance by children, improved nutritional status and reduced malnutrition levels.

The benefits of this project are available to eligible students from all Govt aided and municipal / Zilla Parishad schools irrespective of caste, creed, sex or religion.

The Education Department of the State & Central Govt allocates the schools to different NGOs

The cost per meal for a student in Primary Section varies between Rs 5.25 & Rs 5.75 per meal. The cost per meal in Secondary Section varies between Rs 7.75 & 8.50

There is a certain contribution (Rice/Wheat) from the Government of India and a varying contribution from the respective State Governments in terms of a basic cooking charge ie. Rs 3.50 for Primary and Rs.5.20 for Secondary section, per day per child as cooking charges.

The cost of meal is broken up under the following heads Direct cost

• Cost of raw ingredients
• Cost of preparation
• Distribution expenses

Indirect costs

• Administration and other expenses
• Publicity and promotion expenses

Yes there is a need to raise funds to meet the following expenses.

To set up centralized kitchens.

To maintain the kitchen infrastructure

To meet the cost of running expenses, over and above the Government subsidy.

The cost of setting up a kitchen is approx Five Crores including the delivery vehicles. Cost of premises not included.

The main cost components of a centralized kitchen are
Infrastructure
Civil work and renovation
Kitchen equipment
Delivery vehicles
Stainless steel delivery and serving vessels
Miscellaneous costs

There is NO contribution from the Government either Central or State towards setting up centralized kitchens. ISKCON Food Relief Foundation raises funds from individuals, institutions, foundations and corporations to meet these costs.

There is always a delay in receiving the Govt subsidy. As of today the Govt owes more than Rs Nine Crores to Annamrita Food Relief Foundation.

The free rice provided by Govt is of BPL (Below Poverty Line) variety which needs to be cleaned thoroughly resulting in substantial rejection and heavy cost of processing, transportation and warehousing.

The resources are used for feeding school meals to under privileged children

ISKCON raises funds from its devotees and donors specifically for carrying out its activities such as spreading the teachings of Sanatan Dharma as propounded in Vedic scriptures like Bhagwad Gita. To do this it builds beautiful temples and carries out related humanitarian activities for the spiritual upliftment of people at large. As funds raised by ISKCON are specific donations received for such activities the same cannot be diverted for any other purpose. Similarly funds raised by Annamrita for the Mid Day Meal Project cannot be utilised for the spiritual activities of ISKCON.

These are two different activities and therefore ISKCON has two separate charitable trusts for carrying out these two different kinds of humanitarian activities. Annamrita and ISKCON are two separate entities with different and specific purposes.

Annamrita has 2 flagship programs-
Tithi Bhoj – Poor children feeding on special occasions through IFRF
Khichdi Drive – Annamrita hosts a khichdi tasting at a corporate office, wherein, employees get to have the same khichdi which is being served to the children across schools that day. This activity not only helps us fundraise but also creates a greater awareness for our cause.

Donations made to ISKCON Food Relief Foundation are eligible for tax exemption under section 80G of Income Tax Act.

If the donor is a tax payer the amount donated is deducted from the taxable income of the donor.

Full Name: to identify and address you as donor
Email Id: to send you the soft copy of the receipt.
Complete Postal Address: to send you the hard copy of the receipt.
Contact numbers: so that our representative can speak to you.
PAN Card number: to process your Tax exemption certificate.
Date of Birth (Preferred): to greet the donor on their birth day

All these details are mandatory and donations would not be processed unless these details are provided. The cheque is to be drawn in favour of ISKCON Food Relief Foundation.

At 19, Jaywant Industrial Estate, Tardeo Road, Tardeo, opposite Sobo Central Mall, Off Haji Ali, Mumbai 400034.

Annamrita has also set-up a hi tech kitchen at Hinduhridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Medical College & Dr. R.N. Cooper Municipal General Hospital to serve the underprivileged patients and their relatives.

We also have a kitchen in Navi Mumbai at Gala No.8, Plot No.203,Opp.Vibha Indl. Estate, Retibunder Road, Ghodbunder Village, Mira Road East, Mira Bhayandar, Dist. Thane Maharashtra 401107.

Yes. It can be arranged by prior appointment.

Individuals donors within India can choose how they want to donate Donate Online through Credit Card, Debit Card, Cash Cards, Net Banking, Pay at your Door step. Please visit the website www.annamrita.org

Donate by Cheque / Draft One can make a cheque in favour of ISKCON Food Relief Foundation and send it to Our Administrative Address. Alternatively one can call and we can try and arrange for our authorized person to pick up the cheque

Donate in Person One can make a donation by cash or cheque in person at our administrative office ISKCON Food Relief Foundation

Regular Giving One can give standing instructions to his bank to regularly transfer a fixed sum to the account of ISKCON Food Relief Foundation. Also by making a Fixed Deposit and giving standing instruction to the bank to transfer the interest to IFRF Account.

Donate through Bank Transfer
If you wish to deposit the funds directly to our Account Use Wire Transfer. The Account Information for Wire Transfer is given below

Very Important - Attention Please
To help us serve you better, please let us know the personal details and details about your donation as soon as possible after making the donation. We would need the below details :-

Your Name – To identify and address you as a donor

Your E-Mail – To send you the soft copy of the Cash Receipt.

Your Complete Postal Address – To send you the hard copy of the cash receipt and Tax Exemption Certificate.

Your Contact No. – To speak to you.

Your Pan Card Number – Mandatory to process the Tax Exemption Certificate. Note:- All these details are mandatory and your donation would not be processed unless you send us these details. We do not encourage anonymous donations as a policy.

Details of Bank Account to receive Domestic Bank Transfer (from India)

Yes he can.

Yes

Yes he can.

If the donor is holding an Indian Passport, he is free to donate to IFRF. His donation will not be treated as of foreign source. Hence no need of depositing it in FCRA account. It has to be deposited in Domestic Account.

If the donor is a non-resident Indian, holding a Foreign Passport, he can donate to IFRF as it is registered under FCRA. The donation will be treated as of foreign source. Hence it has to be deposited in FCRA account.

One can make a donation online or send a cheque in foreign currency or by wire transfer Details of Bank Account to receive Foreign Contribution from Non-Indians

IFRF has a team of dedicated individuals consisting of Project promoters and Annamrita consultants who raise funds for the project

A Project Promoter should be an individual with a strong sales background, self-motivated and innovative. He should follow an ethical work code and have good communication as well as computer skills.

A The Project Promoter is compensated on the basis of the results he achieves. Once the Project Promoter collects Rs1,50,000 he gets paid his incentive of 12% on the total monies collected. No other allowances for conveyance or phone bills will be paid

The Government gives ISKCON Food Relief Foundation a basic cooking charge and raw rice. However we do not receive our funding from the government on time and have a backlog of crores from them. Further to develop the project we need the support from individuals and corporates in terms of sponsorship of meals for schools, sponsorship of vehicles, kitchen equipments and land. Many corporates have included us as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility project wherein, not only do they adopt schools for a year but they also receive impact reports and get to interact with the children and build on their employee engagement activity.