Akshaya Patra AMFAM DAY – May 25, 2017
Life can get busy. Sometimes we forget to stay healthy and eat! Many workers in London and around the UK are skipping lunch because they don’t have time and feel guilty about giving themselves an hour just to eat a simple sandwich.
Though workers do have working lunches, it is also true that many are sitting long hours without giving themselves a quick 20 or 30 minute break. And for us graduates out there, just starting out in the working world, we’re eager to make a good impression for the sake of that quick promotion. The result of this busy-bee lifestyle is that we become much more susceptible to burning out, if we feel guilty about taking a break.
In 2015, BUPA did a study on this and found that out of the 2,000 people surveyed a shocking two-thirds of full-time workers did not even take a break for 20 minutes to eat out. They also found that 43 per cent said, ‘I have too much work on’ which is a scary thought to consider when you think about how this could seriously affect your health. As we all know, skipping meals causes our sugar levels to drop, possibly leading to serious conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes and depriving the body of essential nutrients.
But what if there was a way for businesses and workers to be inspired to have a break? Maybe even doing something in that time that they feel is worthwhile. I have heard of a few people taking an hour’s hot Yoga class and lunch-time Botox! (Whatever makes you happy I guess.) But what if you did something that could help the less privileged in the world?
Well, the Akshaya Patra Foundation which is a charity in India, provides school meals to 1.6 million pupils at lunch time in 11 states, and you can be a part of this. Their London offices are thinking up new ways to fundraise. Just £10 pounds can feed a child for a whole year, and £1 pound can feed a child for an entire month! Their next fundraising campaign will take place on the 25th of May, called ‘A Meal for a Meal’ day (AMFAM). One lunch from you will provide a school with free lunches for a growing child for the whole year!
Akshaya Patra has a list of participating London restaurants taking part in the fundraising, from which you can order your choice of lunch straight to your desk or eat out.
Here are the details:
EAT IN? — You can order your lunch online. You pay £5 and your company match funds the other £5. This way everyone’s on board!
EAT OUT? — Pay £10 pounds at a selected restaurant.
See here for more details about how you can get involved — http://www.foodforeducation.org.uk/amfam or email info@akshayapatra.co.uk
So give yourself a well-earned break for once whilst also helping a good cause!!!
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Shivani Govindia
Shivani Govindia has been writing for Shout Out UK since 2017. She has written topics on politics, and covered events/debates in parliament and protests such as the Northern Ireland Abortion Reform.
Shivani studied Bsc Social Sciences at the University of Bath and has completed her Master's degree in Advertising and PR. Her dream is to work in the charity sector.
