Vrindavan , India ( CNN ) -- In the picturesque temple town of Vrindavan , 10-year-old Maya and her three siblings walk to school every day on an empty stomach . She says her parents ca n't afford to feed them adequate meals ; they eat bread and milk for dinner and nothing for breakfast . As the eldest child , she often has to skip class to help her parents harvest wheat . Maya says her parents believe this is a more efficient use of her time , but she has another good reason for attending school -- more food . `` At school we get the most amount of food . At home we do n't get this much . At home my mother tells us to only eat a little bit so there 's enough for everyone , '' she says . Following a landmark decision by the Supreme Court in 2001 , all government schools in India are mandated to provide free meals to students below the age of 13 . In a country where more than 40 % of children below the age of five are underweight , according to UNICEF , India 's midday meal scheme is making great strides . The Akshaya Patra Foundation is working with the government to feed 1.4 million underprivileged children every day . They began in 2000 , feeding a few thousand school children in several schools in the southern city of Bangalore . But in the space of a decade , they say they 've served more than a billion meals across the country . Akshaya Patra 's Vice Chairman , Chanchalapathi Dasa , says the benefits are manifold . Enrollment in schools has increased by roughly 20 % , attendance has improved , children are healthier and their cognitive abilities have also increased . `` If a child is hungry in the classroom then he or she will not be able to receive all this education , '' says Dasa . But preparing food for so many takes more than an ordinary kitchen . You could call it a culinary revolution . In what looks like a factory for food , fresh meals are being mass-produced for millions of children . Custom-made cauldrons can prepare rice for 1,000 kids in 15 minutes . A printing press-like machine can make an impressive 40,000 Indian flatbreads or chapattis in an hour . `` India is a place of numbers . If you 're doing something to provide meals for 1,000 or even 5,000 children , you are merely scratching the surface , '' adds Dasa . `` From the beginning we at Akhshay Patra realized that in order to see a significant impact we have to do it in scale and that we have to use modern techniques of management and innovation . '' They call it a three tier gravity flow kitchen . Tons of raw ingredients like rice , lentils and vegetables are taken to the top floor where they 're cleaned , peeled , cut and sent down chutes into waiting cauldrons below . There , steam generated by furnaces cooks the food . The cooked meals are then thrown down chutes to another level where the meals are packaged . By 8 a.m. meals are ready to be delivered in special vehicles designed to keep the food warm . But while the food production process is efficient , it is also considered . `` We want to treat these children with dignity . We do n't say 'you are poor children and whatever we give you , you must eat that , ' no . We adapt our cooking methods , our menus , recipes to meet the local children 's requirements , '' says Dasa . `` You see , in India every 300 miles you come across a different culture , a different language , a different kind of food habit , so at Akshaya Patra we are sensitive to local cultural requirements and tastes . '' While there are several school feeding programs that distribute rations of wheat and rice , cooked meal programs are rare . This is one of the most successful assistance programs yet -- nourishing food for millions of children and food for thought in the fight against poverty .
UNICEF : More than 40 % of Indian children below the age of five under weight . Score: 6 Akshaya Patra Foundation working with government to feed 1.4 million kids . Foundation produces millions of fresh meals at its three-tier gravity flow kitchen .