DISHOOM REACHES CHARITY MILESTONE: 20 MILLION MEALS DONATED TO CHILDREN IN THE UK AND INDIA

This January, Dishoom is pleased to announce that the team have reached the landmark of 20 million meals donated through their ‘meal for a meal’ charity partnership, where for every meal served at Dishoom a meal is provided to a child that might otherwise go hungry in the UK or India.

In collaboration with long-term charity partners, Magic Breakfast in the UK and The Akshaya Patra Foundation in India, this ‘meal for a meal’ commitment started during Ramadan in 2015 as Dishoom’s ‘zakat’ (an act of almsgiving) and has since expanded to include a donation from every at-home Naan Roll Kit sold, as well as every meal sold at Permit Room since its opening in Brighton in October 2023.

Both charities provide nourishing free school meals to children, ensuring they arrive in the classroom with full bellies and are able to learn, helping to end food poverty as a barrier to education. Dishoom is passionate about breaking down these barriers, which remain a genuine and persistent problem in India and the UK today amidst a cost-of-living crisis when access to healthy, balanced meals is harder to come by than ever.

There is a continued need to support over 4 million children who live with food insecurity in the UK. Indeed, statistics show that in England, at the end of primary school, disadvantaged pupils are over 10 months behind their peers. This is the widest disadvantage gap in over a decade and an increase from nine months in 2019 (pre-pandemic). By GCSEs disadvantaged pupils are 18.8 months behind their peers in GCSE English and maths. This is the widest disadvantage gap since 2012 and an increase from 18.1 months in 2019 (pre-pandemic).

In India, these meals play a dual role in the lives of many – not only do they ensure no child is too hungry to learn, but, in many instances, they also provide the very reason for children to attend school. For many girls in India, access to the same education as boys is restricted, and girls living in developing countries are often the first to be withdrawn from education when a family is experiencing financial difficulties. By providing a free midday meal, Akshaya Patra provides an incentive to ensure children of both sexes receive the education they deserve.

As food insecurity remains a huge issue across households, collectively Akshaya Patra and Magic Breakfast strive to work with over 22,000 schools in England, Scotland and India, offering healthy meals to over two million children every school day, a feat that Dishoom is proud to offer continued support.

Beyond donating meals, Dishoom also hosts an annual Magic Breakfast Takeover in its cafés, where children from Magic Breakfast’s partner schools are invited to enjoy a healthy breakfast and meet with Dishoom’s very own Chef-Wallas and devoted team of volunteers. The annual event is instrumental in connecting the restaurants with local communities and provides the opportunity for Dishoom employees to engage with the partnership and see the impact of their support in action. This Spring, children from a Magic Breakfast partner school will visit the newest café, Dishoom Battersea, to enjoy hot Naan Rolls and orange juice, along with roti making – with the hope to give them big grins and full tummies!

Dishoom also runs a Bombay Bootcamp each year, taking team members who have been with the company for five years to visit Bombay with Dishoom’s Founders and Executive Chef. As part of the tour, the team are shown the Akshaya Patra kitchens before serving lunch through the Midday Meals programme, providing an opportunity to witness the relationship with its charity partner first hand.


For more information on Dishoom’s long-term partnerships with Magic Breakfast and The Akshaya Patra Foundation, please visit:

https://www.dishoom.com/charity/
https://www.magicbreakfast.com/
https://www.akshayapatra.org.uk
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For further information, please speak to Gemma Bell and Company:
Alicia Fellowes; alicia@gemmabellandcompany.com