Nourishing Telangana’s Classrooms: How Annapoorna Trust Reaches 16 Lakh+ Children Every Morning
A child who starts the school day hungry finds it harder to focus, learn and take part. That is why, in Telangana, we are working hand in hand with the state government so that more than 16 lakh government-school children begin their mornings with SaiSure Fortified Ragi and Jaggery health mix, served with milk. This is the story of how that journey unfolded.
1. Our first step: Karimnagar, September 2022
Our journey with the ragi health mix in Telangana began on 14 September 2022 at ZPHS Velichala in Ramadugu Mandal, Karimnagar district, where we introduced Raagi Cereals Health Mix. In that first phase we reached 620 children across 9 government schools.
SaiSure is added to milk and given to every child each morning after school prayer, right on the school premises. The mix is rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, B-complex vitamins, calcium, magnesium, iron and phosphorus, all of which growing children need.
The launch coincided with National Nutrition Month and echoed the government’s POSHAN Abhiyaan. We were honoured to have Shri Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Minister for Panchayat Raj, Rural Development and Rural Water Supply, with us, along with local MLAs, the District Collector, the Zilla Parishad chairperson and CEO, and other officials. On the same day, our Secretary and Trustee, Anand Kadali, offered sarees and dhotis to the school’s teachers and cooks as a thank-you for the care they put into the children’s days.
2. A landmark partnership: Telangana signs on for ragi and jaggery nutrition
On 4 September 2025, the Government of Telangana and Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide fortified ragi and jaggery health mix to over 16.2 lakh government-school children.
The mix supplies essential micro and macro nutrients and helps tackle “hidden hunger” and “classroom hunger”, supporting better attendance, focus and academic performance. Telangana is the first state to begin the SaiSure ragi health mix.
Our aim is simple: every child who walks into a government school in Telangana should be able to start the day nourished.
3. Telangana at a glance
As of July 2026, our work in Telangana has reached 36,943 schools and Anganwadis. In each of them, a child starts the day with a serving of Fortified Ragi + Jaggery, a simple, wholesome nutrition variant made for growing children.
Today, 16,24,882 children are being served. Behind each number is a child who walks into class a little stronger, a little more ready to learn.
We are not stopping there. Another 5,00,000 children are planned to join, which will bring the total to 21,24,882 children.
Our goal in Telangana is to support 21 lakh children with nutrition, one school and one Anganwadi at a time.
4. How morning nutrition works, and why it matters
SaiSure is our fortified health mix. In Telangana it comes as Ragi and Jaggery, is added to milk, and is served every morning after school prayers. We make it at our own SaiSure Nutraceutical Manufacturing facility.
Our model works with what schools already have. Government schools in every village already have a kitchen and staff for midday meals, so we use this infrastructure to serve morning nutrition right at school. It reflects our “3S” principle, which brings together three partners: Sarkara (Government), Samstha (good institutions) and Samaja (society and individuals).
Why a health mix and not just a meal? A child can eat enough to feel full and still lack essential vitamins and minerals. This is called hidden hunger, a form of malnutrition linked to micronutrient deficiencies. SaiSure is designed to close that gap.
SaiSure’s effectiveness against micronutrient deficiencies has been scientifically validated by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) under ICMR and the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR). Ragi, or finger millet, is naturally rich in calcium and iron, and jaggery adds natural sweetness.
5. Beyond schools: Ragi Java for Government Junior Colleges
Our morning nutrition in Telangana now reaches beyond school children. We have begun serving SaiSure Ragi Java, a millet-based drink, to students of Government Junior Colleges. The drink is prepared in the kitchens of our partners Hare Krishna Charities (HKM) and Manna Trust.
Lakshmi Kumari, Principal of Tagore’s Home Junior College, East Marredpally, Secunderabad, shared: “We sincerely recommend that SaiSure Ragi Jawa be served regularly in all Government Junior Colleges across Telangana.”
We also served Ragi Java at our stall at the Telangana Formation Day celebrations on 2 June 2026.
6. Partnerships that reach more children
Reaching lakhs of children takes coordination. In Telangana, we run the programme day to day with the Telangana Education Department, which helps us distribute the SaiSure Fortified Ragi and Jaggery health mix under the MoU with the state government.
Our corporate partners add to this effort. On 14 October 2025, our volunteers joined Amazon Web Services (AWS) India at Zilla Parishad High School, Hythabad Gram Panchayat, for a wellness session with girl students. The session covered personal hygiene, menstrual hygiene management and healthy daily habits, and the students were served SaiSure Millet (Ragi) Multi Nutrient Health Mix, which is served daily at AWS-sponsored schools.
At the event, Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai, Founder of the One World One Family mission, said: “When we educate and empower young girls, we don’t just shape their futures; we shape society’s conscience.
7. Working with the government, from districts to Hyderabad
Our teams in Telangana stay in regular touch with the government at every level. Some recent engagements:
Midday Meals department (30 May 2026): G. Usha Rani, Additional Director (Midday Meals), expressed her continued support after four years of partnership and referred our proposal for continuing the programme to the Director.
Telangana Formation Day (2 June 2026): The Education Department arranged a stall for us at the celebrations at the Ranga Reddy District Collector Office. IT Minister D. Sridhar Babu visited the stall and praised our work, and the District Education Officer met our team. We later briefed the Minister on our work in child nutrition, health and education.
Minister for SC, ST and Minority Welfare (4 June 2026): Shri Adluri Laxman Kumar Rao praised our partnership with the state, which serves SaiSure Ragi Multi Nutrient Health Mix with jaggery to more than 16 lakh government-school students. He offered to arrange a meeting with the Chief Minister so that we can present our proposal for extending the programme to Anganwadi children.
Women and Child Development (4 June 2026): We discussed extending nutrition support to Anganwadi children across Telangana with Smt. Anitha Ramachandran, Secretary of the WCD&SC Department, and shared the NIN and IIMR validation of SaiSure.
Karimnagar (29 August 2025): Our Telangana team met Shri Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Minister of State for Home Affairs, to share how SaiSure Ragi Fortified Health Mix with Jaggery reaches schoolchildren across the state.
We have also briefed Telangana Governor Shri Jishnu Dev Verma on our work in nutrition, healthcare and education, and invited him to visit Sathya Sai Grama.
8. Our milestones in Telangana
Our Telangana journey began on 14 September 2022 at ZPHS Velichala in Karimnagar. That day we launched Raagi Cereals Health Mix for 620 children in 9 schools. It was a small start, but it showed that a simple, wholesome serving could find its way into a child’s school day.
Three years later, on 4 September 2025, a major step followed. We signed an MoU with the Government of Telangana to provide fortified ragi and jaggery to over 16.2 lakh government-school children.
On 14 October 2025, we were at ZPHS Hythabad for a wellness session with volunteers from AWS India. By then, over 16.5 lakh children were being supported across Telangana.
In 2026, we began taking the work to new places. On 2 June, we set up a stall at the Telangana Formation Day celebrations in Ranga Reddy district. Two days later, on 4 June, we met the Minister for SC, ST and Minority Welfare and the WCD&SC Secretary in Hyderabad to discuss extending nutrition to Anganwadi children.
By July 2026, 16,24,882 children were being served in Telangana, with 5,00,000 more planned.
It began with 620 children, and the story is still being written.
9. The people behind the mission
Behind every cup of ragi and jaggery are people who show up each day: our volunteers and programme teams, the Telangana Education Department, school teachers and kitchen staff, and partner volunteers such as those from AWS India. Across India, more than 600 volunteers are part of this mission.
Our Trustee and CEO, Anand Kadali, leads our engagement with the state, supported by our Telangana operations team, including Srikanth Vooturi (Regional Manager, Operations) and Pottabathini Kumaraswamy (Assistant Regional Manager, Operations). At the 2022 Karimnagar launch, Dhananjay Rao Ejapu was our State Coordinator for Telangana.
The children remain at the heart of everything we do. For them, morning nutrition is about more than food. It is a chance to begin the school day with energy, dignity and the ability to learn.
10. The journey continues
Telangana is part of a much larger mission. Across India, we now reach over 1 crore government-school children every morning, across 25 states and 4 Union Territories, and we have served more than 3 billion meals since 2012. In Telangana, we plan to reach 5 lakh more children, which would take our total to over 21 lakh.
What comes next is already taking shape. We have put forward a proposal to extend morning nutrition to Anganwadi children across Telangana, and the Minister for SC, ST and Minority Welfare has offered to arrange a meeting with the Chief Minister to present it. We are also introducing Ragi Java for Government Junior College students, so that nutrition support can follow children as they grow.
Our vision stays the same: “Let no child go to school hungry, ever!”
When a child begins the day nourished, it is about more than breakfast. It is about the child’s chance to learn, grow and look ahead with hope.
Frequently asked questions
1.When did Annapoorna Trust sign an MoU with Telangana?
On 4 September 2025, the Government of Telangana and the Trust signed an MoU to provide fortified ragi and jaggery to over 16.2 lakh government-school children.
2.What do you serve to children in Telangana?
SaiSure Fortified Ragi and Jaggery health mix, added to milk and served every morning after school prayers.
3.How many children do you serve in Telangana?
We serve 16,24,882 children today, with 5,00,000 more planned (as of July 2026).
4.What is hidden hunger?
A form of malnutrition caused by micronutrient deficiencies, where a child may eat enough to feel full but still lack essential vitamins and minerals.
5.Who do you work with in Telangana? The Telangana Education Department for distribution, and partners such as Amazon Web Services India.
6. Where did the ragi health mix start in Telangana?
On 14 September 2022 at ZPHS Velichala, Ramadugu Mandal, Karimnagar district, reaching 620 children in 9 government schools.
