Nourishing Schools

What Nourishing Schools does

Nourishing Schools Foundation is an independent Indian non-profit established in 2016 (originally under Ashoka India and reorganised as a standalone entity with Co-founder and CEO Archana Sinha) that delivers a school-based nutrition education programme for children aged 9–14 (grades 4–9) across Karnataka, Rajasthan, Assam, and Maharashtra. Its core product, the Nourishing Schools Toolkit, is a box of games and activities covering nutrition, hygiene, sustainability, and wellness — including practical exercises such as soap making, building handwashing stations, and setting up school gardens — adopted collaboratively by school headmasters, teachers, and local farming groups. The Foundation supplements the toolkit with customised data dashboards (built with survey partner Axxonet) that visualise baseline, midline, and endline survey data across 330+ schools to track student engagement and programme outcomes, and a 2025 food literacy curriculum piloted in 20 schools in Jaipur extends the programme to kindergarten through grade 8.

The organisation is funded primarily through donations and CSR partnerships, with named support from BW LPG India (reaching 4,000 schoolchildren in Rajasthan), DSM Bright Science Foundation, Swiss Re Foundation, Food Future Foundation, and NASSCOM Foundation's Social Innovation Catalyst programme. It distributes the toolkit and curriculum free of charge to beneficiary schools, relying on direct school partnerships, government collaborations (notably with the Government of Rajasthan), and corporate CSR co-funding as its go-to-market motion, and uses content marketing, social media, events such as the annual Nutrition Conclave and the Fit and Fun Ideas Challenge, and media partnerships for awareness. Since inception, the Foundation reports reaching over 330 schools and 95,000 schoolchildren, with measured outcomes including 14-percentage-point gains in children's self-efficacy on nutrition, 32-percentage-point gains in handwashing with soap, 52-percentage-point increases in Iron Folic Acid tablet consumption in Jaipur, and 28- and 20-percentage-point gains in Science and Mathematics scores respectively within one programme cycle.

Name

Nourishing Schools

Legal name

Nourishing Schools Foundation

Website

https://nourishingschools.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nourishing Schools Foundation is an Indian non-profit that delivers a school-based nutrition, hygiene, and wellness Toolkit to children aged 9–14 across 330+ schools in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Assam, and Maharashtra, funded through donations and CSR partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

School Nutrition Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

School Feeding & Social Protection Partnerships (Conditional Cash Transfers, etc.) (EDADALAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

School Feeding & Child Nutrition Programs (BPADAJAD), Food Safety, Sanitation & Healthy Food Environment Programs (EDACAMAM), Menu Planning, Nutrition & Dietary Accommodation Services (Allergens, Special Diets) (EDAEAEAD)

Keywords

• School nutrition education
• Child nutrition programs
• Adolescent nutrition toolkit
• School health programmes
• Nutrition awareness curriculum

Headquarters

HQ city

Fairfax

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Philanthropic Funding: Nourishing Schools Foundation relies primarily on donations from individuals and institutional funders, including corporate social responsibility (CSR) partnerships with companies such as BW LPG India. Donations are processed through online platforms and are subject to the organisation's donation refund and terms and conditions policies.
2. Partnership and Programme Collaboration: The NGO generates value through strategic partnerships with government bodies, NGOs, and corporations who co-fund or co-implement nutrition education programmes in schools, expanding reach without direct revenue generation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Nourishing Schools Foundation delivers a school-based nutrition education programme through the Nourishing Schools Toolkit — a box of games, activities, and workbooks designed for children in 4th to 9th grade covering nutrition, hygiene, sustainability, and wellness. The toolkit is delivered free of charge to government and aided schools across India, supported by baseline, midline, and endline data collection, and complemented by a food literacy curriculum, data dashboards, and student engagement initiatives such as the Fit and Fun Ideas Challenge.

Product overview

Nourishing Schools Foundation operates primarily through its Nourishing Schools Toolkit—a core educational product designed as an interactive box of games and activities for children in 4th to 9th grade. The toolkit is complemented by data dashboards for tracking programme impact and a food literacy curriculum with workbooks for kindergarten to grade eight students. The Foundation also conducts periodic initiatives like the Fit and Fun Ideas Challenge and Nutrition Conclave to engage students and stakeholders. The toolkit incorporates practical components including school gardens, hygiene activities (soap-making, handwashing stations), and nutrition education activities that children apply to solve real-world problems in their schools and communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nourishing Schools Toolkit A field-tested educational toolkit of games and activities (e.g., making soap, building handwashing stations, setting up school gardens) for children in 4th to 9th grade, designed to teach nutrition, hygiene, sustainability, and wellness while enabling communities to broaden agriculture's focus from income generation to nutritional outcomes. Delivered free of charge to government and aided schools in India.
• Food Literacy Curriculum A comprehensive food literacy curriculum developed with nutrition and education experts for children from kindergarten to grade 8, including interactive workbooks with activities and games on balanced meals, micronutrients, and hygiene practices, tailored to regional needs.
• Data Dashboards and Impact Tracking Customised data dashboards that visualise survey data collected at baseline, midline, and endline across programme schools, enabling real-time monitoring of student engagement, nutrition knowledge, and hygiene practices, and supporting continuous programme refinement.
• Fit and Fun Ideas Challenge A student innovation challenge inviting school and college students across India to submit ideas for games and activities promoting physical activity, well-being, and healthier lifestyles; winning ideas are integrated into the Nourishing Schools Toolkit.

Quantifiable outcome

• 14 percentage point increase in children reporting they can take charge of their own nutrition
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ashoka IndiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNourishing Schools originated as an Ashoka India initiative. Ashoka partnered with schools to develop children as young changemakers who can take charge of their own nutrition and that of their communities. The partnership contributed the initial model and ecosystem support for the programme's development.
• The Akshaya Patra FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA key partner in the Cookathon for Karnataka event (2016), focused on improving nutrition in mid-day meals. The Akshaya Patra Foundation, which feeds over 1.4 million children daily, expressed interest in adopting nutritious recipes developed during the Cookathon into its mass-produced mid-day meal menus.
• Something's CookingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost studio partner for the Cookathon for Karnataka event (April 2016), providing the venue and culinary expertise to develop nutritious recipes using locally available ingredients for school mid-day meals.
• Food Future FoundationcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOutreach partner for the Fit and Fun Ideas Challenge, collaborating on a competition inviting schoolchildren and college students to pitch ideas for the Nourishing Schools Toolkit. Also a partner in the Rajasthan food literacy programme and joint nutrition dialogues with CII FACE.
• Department of Home Science, Mount Carmel College, Autonomous, BengalurucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for the Nutrition Conclave 2024, hosting the event to gather experts to discuss solutions for addressing adolescent malnutrition in India. The conclave featured panel discussions with public health experts, government advisors, and NGO practitioners.
• Government of RajasthancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState government partnership enabling the expansion of the Nourishing Schools Toolkit to new schools in Rajasthan after demonstrating positive programme outcomes. The collaboration leverages government infrastructure and reach to scale the food literacy curriculum.
• Local Farming Groups and CommunitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with local farming groups enable communities to broaden agriculture's focus from increasing incomes to improving both incomes and nutritional status. Students apply climate-resilient agriculture practices in school gardens and become ambassadors of change in their communities.
• Patrika GroupminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner co-convening National Nutrition Week campaigns and independent dialogues on WASH and nutrition with Nourishing Schools Foundation, raising awareness through multi-day newspaper columns and public discussions.
• Confederation of Indian Industry's Food & Agriculture Centre of Excellence (CII FACE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-convened an online Food Systems Dialogue with Nourishing Schools Foundation and Food Future Foundation to inform the UN Food Systems Summit, bringing together stakeholders from the food and agriculture sector.
• School Headmasters and TeacherscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerOn-the-ground implementation partners who adopt and deliver the Nourishing Schools Toolkit within their schools, providing feedback to improve programme effectiveness and enabling data collection through surveys.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• ProVeg International: International food awareness organisation running school-based nutrition education and behaviour-change programmes, including in South Asia. Comparable as a specialised player in school nutrition education and food-system change, though with a plant-forward dietary lens.

Broad incumbents

• Pratham Education Foundation: One of India's largest education NGOs operating at scale across primary and secondary schools. Comparable as an education-sector NGO working with government school systems, though its primary focus is literacy rather than nutrition.
• Save the Children India: Large international NGO with significant Indian operations on child health, nutrition, and education. Comparable as an established school- and community-based child nutrition organisation, but operating at much larger scale and with broader programmatic scope.
• Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN): Global foundation focused on improving nutrition, with significant school-based adolescent nutrition programming in India and similar geographies. Comparable as a larger, established player in the same school nutrition space.
• UNICEF India: United Nations agency that convenes and funds adolescent nutrition, school WASH, and POSHAN-aligned programmes in India. Comparable as a system-level player shaping the same policy and funding environment Nourishing Schools operates in.
• Magic Bus India Foundation: Indian youth development NGO working with school-age adolescents through school- and community-based programmes. Comparable on target demographic (school-age children) and school-led delivery model, though focused on livelihoods and life skills.

Others

• Ashoka: Global network of leading social entrepreneurs (Ashoka Fellows) that incubated Nourishing Schools. Comparable as the parent ecosystem and peer network, and as a fellow social-entrepreneurship support organisation.
• NASSCOM Foundation: Indian technology-industry social impact foundation that selected Nourishing Schools for its Social Innovation Catalyst programme. Comparable as an enabler/funder of high-impact NGOs, not a direct competitor.

Direct peers

• The Akshaya Patra Foundation: The largest mid-day meal NGO in India, serving 1.4 million children daily. Directly comparable to Nourishing Schools as a school-based nutrition intervention at massive scale, and an active collaborator (Cookathon recipes, Nutrition Conclave).
• Food Future Foundation: Indian food literacy and sustainable food systems foundation that co-developed the Rajasthan food literacy curriculum with Nourishing Schools and convenes joint nutrition dialogues. Directly comparable on mission and target audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nourishing_sch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nourishing-schools-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/nourishingschools

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nourishing Schools