Food Service to Devotees at Lord Balaji Temple, Tirumala
The Lord Balaji temple located at the scenic Tirumala Hills is very popular among devotees who appreciate the organization and maintenance of the temple town. Channeling the donations from pilgrims, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has been successful in operating a host of free services to all who visit the holy shrine.
Amongst these, the food service remains the most availed service by devotees as it is considered prasadam, meaning sacred food blessed by the Gods.
Sustaining this tradition since decades, TTD has ensured every devotee who wishes to have prasadam after offering prayers at the sanctum sanctorum can do so three times a day.
According to a recent survey THE ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF TTD, almost 50, 000 devotees visit TTD on a daily basis and on special occasions like Srivari Brahmotsavams, the count increases to one lakh and all of them are served with prasadam. However, the TTD pilgrims are expected to follow time schedules during which food is served.
| Food | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
| Food items being served | Upma/Pongal/Vermicelli upma along with Chutney | Chakkara Pongal, Curry, Chutney, Rice, Sambar, Rasam & Buttermilk | Chakkara Pongal, Curry, Chutney, Rice, Sambar, Rasam & Buttermilk |
| Timings | 09-00 A.M. to 10.30 A.M. | 10.30 A.M. to 04.00 P.M. | 05-00 P.M. to 10-30 P.M. |
| Number of Pilgrims | Weekdays: 55,000
Weekends: Above 6500 |
Weekdays: 50,000
Weekends: Above 6000 |
Weekdays: 60,000
Weekends: Above 70,000 |
The above data has been sourced from TTD website
On a daily basis, 10-12 tons of rice is cooked and served near the temples and almost 8 tons of vegetables are used at all Anna Prasadam canteens around the temple town. The beauty of TTD is that all these foods are received through donations from devotees and are again given back to them in the form of blessings.
The following is the list of local temples during the Brahmostavams & other auspicious occasions where visiting pilgrims at the following in the form of can avail the prasadam.
- Sri Prasanna Venkateswara swamy Temple, Appalayagunta
- Sri Kalyana Venkateswaraswamy Temple, Srinivasa Mangapuram
- Sri Govindarajaswamy Temple, Tirupati
- Sri Kodandaramaswamy Temple, Tirupati
- Sri Kapileswaraswamy Temple, Tirupati
- Sri Kodandaramaswamy Temple, Vontimitta