TTD’s Annaprasadam Trust Deposits Touch Rs 2,500-Cr; Up to 3 Lakh Devotees Fed Daily
Tirumala, June 10(TNT): The Sri Venkateswara Annaprasadam Trust of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which provides free meals to lakhs of pilgrims visiting Tirumala every day, has accumulated fixed deposits of around Rs 2,500 crore through donations from devotees.
The income generated from these deposits enables TTD to serve free, nutritious meals, breakfast and beverages to devotees throughout the year.
Launched on April 6, 1985, with just 2,000 servings a day, the Annaprasadam programme currently caters to nearly three lakh devotees on weekends, holidays and peak rush days, while serving around 1.8 lakh to 1.9 lakh devotees on regular days.
Often described as a modern-day “Akshaya Patra”, the programme has emerged as one of the largest free meal initiatives in the country, combining traditional service with modern food preparation and distribution systems.
According to TTD, nearly 9,600 litres of milk are consumed daily for the preparation of milk and beverages served to pilgrims.
Based on a three-month average, around 70,000 devotees are served beverages daily, while breakfast is provided to about 60,200 devotees, lunch to nearly 99,500 devotees and dinner to around 56,700 devotees.
The Matrusri Tarigonda Vengamamba Annaprasadam Complex serves over 82,000 devotees every day and has the capacity to accommodate nearly 4,000 devotees at a time in its four dining halls.
Apart from the main complex, Annaprasadam is distributed through Sri Akshaya Kitchen, food courts, Vaikuntam Queue Complex, Narayanagiri sheds, PAC buildings and other distribution points across Tirumala.
To meet the daily demand, TTD uses around 15.8 tonnes of rice, 3.1 tonnes of sunflower oil and 2.86 tonnes of red gram dal, besides large quantities of wheat rava, suji rava, black gram dal, jaggery, coconuts, sugar and spices.
TTD statistics show that more than 44 million servings of meals, breakfast and beverages were distributed between January and May 2026. The highest monthly distribution was recorded in January with nearly 10 million servings, followed by more than 9.2 million servings in May.
As part of its modernisation efforts, TTD commissioned the Vakulamata Centralised Kitchen in 2024, enabling food distribution at 28 additional locations. A new dining hall at PAC-5 (Venkatadri Nilayam) with a seating capacity of around 1,500 devotees has also been made operational.
The temple administration is also planning to establish a satellite automated kitchen capable of preparing food for two lakh devotees per day.
The Annaprasadam programme is supported by around 1,000 employees, including cooking staff, supervisors, drivers and administrative personnel, besides another 1,000 Srivari Seva volunteers who assist in serving devotees across Tirumala every day.
TNT LE
