There is now a lip-smacking incentive for students of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College in Mylapore to be on the campus before 8.30 a.m. The college is starting a free breakfast scheme for students, which will be inaugurated on October 5 by Swami Satyajnanananda, president of Sri Ramakrishna Math.
From mint coriander idly with mixed dhal sambar, veg rava khichdi with peanut chutney, wheat vermicelli veg upma with green moong dal gravy, the menu curated by NGO Akshaya Patra Foundation promises to be both interesting and wholesome. It will be brought from the Foundation’s kitchen on Greams Road in Thousand Lights every working day to feed approximately 600 students.
For this autonomous institution, this is a extension of its free noon meal programme that it has been offering since 2004 to students from less privileged backgrounds enrolled with the college.
Approximately 600 students are currently registered as beneficiaries under this ‘no cost noon meal scheme’. Each beneficiary is issued an identity card to avail of this facility, and an average of 450 students benefit from the scheme every working day, says a note shared by the college management.
Students enrolled for the noon meal scheme will be added to the breakfast scheme, and this is entirely supported by Akshaya Patra.
The college management feels the breakfast scheme would help address the decline in admissions to undergraduate programmes by providing additional welfare support to economically disadvantaged students, improve attendance and promise a healthy start to the day.
A spokesperson from Akshaya Patra Foundation said that this would be the first college in Tamil Nadu where it will be initiating such a programme. In Chennai, they currently serve breakfast to 55 government-aided schools.
“The breakfast menu in college would be slightly different from what we serve children at schools. It is a pilot programme and the menu is based on regional preferences, ensuring it is both wholesome and nutritious,” says the spokesperson.
Published – October 03, 2026 10:27 pm IST
