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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline OCTOBER 16, 2026 | The Indian Eye 41

Robert Vadra Supports

World Food Movement’s Student Meal

Program in New Jersey

EDISON, N.J. He said, “Serving food is one of the
best things we can do. Seeing students
October 6, 2026
smile and knowing that a meal can
orld Food Movement give them the energy to move forward
(WFM), a U.S.-based non- was truly meaningful to me. I’m happy
Wprofit working to expand to be part of World Food Movement,
access to nutritious meals for students and I’ll help out as much as I can
and food-insecure communities, con- wherever I go.”
ducted a student meal program at Es- Dr. Augustine A. Boakye, Pres-
sex County College in New Jersey on ident of Essex County College, said,
October 6. “There are many barriers between a
As part of the program, entrepre- student and a college degree, and food
neur and philanthropist Robert Vadra is one of them. By removing that bar-
served meals to students and interact- rier, this program is helping students
ed with members of the college com- move forward toward their degrees.
munity, bringing attention to the im- That is truly amazing to us, and we re-
portance of food access and nutrition ally appreciate it. Today, this may be a
support for students pursuing their small project, but in a very short time,
education. students who have benefited from this
World Food Movement was estab- program will be able to say, ‘Because
lished in 2025 to provide food assistance of this program, I was able to finish my
to students and communities across the degree.’”
United States. The organization was World Food Movement had es-
inspired by the experience of The Ak- tablished meal-serving initiatives in
shaya Patra Foundation and has drawn several U.S. communities and had
on more than 25 years of experience been working to expand its reach to
in large-scale meal service to devel- additional locations. The organiza-
op its programs in the United States. tion had set a goal of serving 1 million
Since its inception, WFM had meals in the United States by 2030.
served more than 70,000 meals to stu- The organization’s programs had
dents and food-insecure individuals particularly focused on students at
across communities in New Jersey, community colleges and on food-inse-
New York, the San Francisco Bay cure individuals, with the aim of help-
Area, Boston, Dallas and Washing- ing people pursue their education and
ton, D.C. “When students had access to Naveena Neerada Dasa, Executive daily lives without the added burden
The Essex County College pro- a nutritious meal, they could focus Director – Strategy and Internation- of worrying about their next meal.
gram provided students with fresh, more fully on their education and fu- al Relations, World Food Movement. The October 6 program at Essex
nutritious meals while creating an op- ture. The program at Essex County During the visit, Robert Vadra County College was part of WFM’s
portunity for interaction and conver- College reflected our commitment to accompanied by community leader broader effort to build awareness
sation around the challenges faced by supporting students and communities Rajender Dichpally served meals to around food insecurity and expand com-
students experiencing food insecurity. through access to nutritious food,” said students and interacted with them. munity-based access to nutritious meals.

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