AWL Agri Business Limited, one of India’s largest food and FMCG companies, said on Tuesday it has strengthened its partnership with The Akshaya Patra Foundation by donating five custom-built insulated food distribution vehicles to support the Foundation’s Mid-Day Meal Programme.

The company has also committed to sponsoring nutritious mid-day meals for more than 41,000 children studying in government schools across Gandhinagar, it said. The initiative was marked by a vehicle flag-off ceremony held at the company’s corporate headquarters.

The five customized insulated vehicles will enable the safe and timely delivery of freshly prepared meals to government schools across Surat, Gandhinagar, and Vadodara, strengthening the Foundation’s ability to provide nutritious meals to children every school day, the company said.

“At AWL Agri Business, we believe that good nutrition is the foundation of a child’s health, education and future,” said Shrikant Kanhere, Managing Director & CEO, AWL Agri Business Ltd. “We are delighted to further strengthen our partnership with The Akshaya Patra Foundation through this initiative, which combines infrastructure support with direct nutritional assistance to children.”

Sri Raya Rama Dasa, Vice President of The Akshaya Patra Foundation, Gujarat, said the vehicles and meal sponsorship would strengthen the organization’s ability to serve children more efficiently. “Together, these efforts will help us combat classroom hunger, improve school attendance and help more children to learn and thrive,” he said.

The partnership builds on a long-standing association between the two organizations. To date, AWL Agri Business has served more than 700,000 mid-day meals to school children and provided 14 food delivery vehicles, covering more than 27,000 children across 129 schools, the company said.

The Mid-Day Meal Programme initiative also supports Fortune SuPoshan, AWL’s flagship CSR programme addressing malnutrition and anaemia among women and children, the company said.

AWL Agri Business Ltd., formerly known as Adani Wilmar Ltd., is one of India’s largest food and FMCG companies, with more than 80 manufacturing facilities across 11 states, including what it says is India’s largest single-location refinery, located in Mundra with a 5,000-tonne-per-day capacity. Its Fortune brand reaches more than 135 million households, the company said.