Annapoorna Mata is the Goddess of nourishment. Anna means food and grains. Purna means full, complete and perfect. She is actually Devi  Parvati, the consort of Shiva.

Once Goddess  Parvati was told by her Husband Lord  Shiva that the world is an illusion and that food is a part of this illusion called Maya. The Divine Mother who is worshipped as the manifestation of all material things, including food, became seriously angry. To demonstrate the importance of her manifestation she disappeared from the world.

Her disappearance brought time to a standstill and the earth became barren and dry. There was no food to be found anywhere and all the living beings suffered from the pangs of hunger.

Seeing all the suffering, Mother Parvati was filled with compassion and reappeared in Kashi and set up a Kitchen.

Hearing about her return, Lord Shiva ran to her and presented his bowl in alms saying, now he realized that the material world, like the spirit, cannot be dismissed as an illusion. Devi Parvati smiled and fed Lord Shiva with her own hands.

Since then Parvati is worshipped as Annapurna, the Goddess of Nourishment.