Akshaya Patra Foundation CEO wins Eisenhower Fellowships Impact Award

Shridhar Venkat will receive a $10,000 prize to support the work of Akshaya Patra.

Shridhar Venkat / LinkedIn/@Shridhar Venkat

Chief Executive Officer of the Akshaya Patra Foundation, Shridhar Venkat, won the 2025 James and Carol Hovey Eisenhower Fellowships Impact Award, on Sept. 4.

Venkat was recognized for his efforts in providing meals to impoverished schoolchildren in India through the Akshaya Patra Foundation, the world's largest nongovernmental school lunch and breakfast program.

Along with Venkat, Peruvian physician Magaly Blas, Founder and Director of the Mamás del Río (Mothers of the River) program, has also won the Eisenhower Fellowships award.

The award seeks to recognize Eisenhower Fellows for outstanding project achievement in generating positive impact in their society.

Akshaya Patra, which began in 2000 with the goal of feeding 1,500 children across five government schools in Bengaluru, India, has grown into a leading social impact organization. The NGO now operates 78 advanced kitchens to serve over 2.35 million midday meals and one million morning nutrition servings daily.

Under Venkat's guidance, Akshaya Patra has developed innovative, scalable initiatives that integrate nutrition, education, and women’s empowerment, providing daily meals to millions of schoolchildren across 16 Indian states and three union territories .

ALSO READ: Akshaya Patra inspires youth ambassadors at Hinsdale meet and greet

The program mandates that children consume their meals at local schools, promoting education in impoverished regions of India where they might not otherwise attend classes.

Lauding the contributions of both the winners, Eisenhower Fellowships President George de Lama said in a statement, "Half a world apart, the tireless work of Magaly Blas and Shridhar Venkat has dramatically improved the quality of life for impoverished mothers and their children in their nations."

Lama added, "By reaching out to provide essential, life-sustaining health care and food in some of the most remote and long-neglected corners of their countries, their inspiring work exemplifies Eisenhower Fellowships' mission to create a world more peaceful, prosperous and just."

As part of the award, Shridhar Venkat will receive a $10,000 USD prize to support the work of Akshaya Patra.

Before starting the Akshaya Patra Foundation, Venkat was the Vice President for Sales at Webex Communications. He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program of the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to his Eisenhower Fellowship, he is also a recipient of the Mother Teresa Social Leadership Scholarship.

EF Trustee Jim Hovey, longtime former vice chairman of the EF Board of Trustees and chairman of its Executive Committee, will present Blas and Venkat the award at the 2025 Hovey Award Dinner and Pin Ceremony for EF's international and American Fellows completing their travels this fall.

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