PBS高端访谈:大力救助饥饿孩子

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Now a pair of stories tied to concerns over economic inequality and mobility¹ in the U.S. The president is expected to speak at length about these topics in his State of the Union address next week.

　　First, a health story. There are about 50 million people in the United States who don't have access to the food they need to lead healthy and productive lives; 17 million of them are children. Many live in big cities like Los Angeles, New York, Houston, and Chicago. That's according to the latest report from the hunger relief group Feeding America. But there are areas where the problem is much more pronounced than you might expect. And one of them is in Southern California.

　　Hari is back with our report.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: It's known as one of the most exclusive places on earth, the home of the rich and spectacularly rich.

　　Orange County, Calif.'s, reputation only grew when the TV crews started rolling in several years ago. But "The Real Housewives of Orange County" and the teens of "Laguna Beach" failed to mention a major piece of the O.C. drama. The county is also among the top 10 in the U.S. for childhood food insecurity.

　　The term means that, along with the yacht clubs and average home prices of nearly $2 million in some spots, Orange County also has more than 150,000 children who don't know where their next meal is coming from.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Paul Leon is the president of the Illumination Foundation, a group that helps struggling families find housing and stability.

　　PAUL LEON, Illumination Foundation: Orange County is basically the tale of two cities. We have the area that we're standing² in right now, which is Newport Beach, is the richest think in the nation. And then 17 miles away, we have one of the most densely³ populated and poorest cities in the nation.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Among the poor are thousands of low-income workers who support the county's luxury economy. Before Leon's foundation intervened, kids in the Tina Pacific neighborhood of Anaheim often skipped meals.

　　Michele Cummings, who volunteers for the foundation and lives in Tina Pacific, was one of the first to recognize how hungry her neighbors were.

　　MICHELE CUMMINGS: One night, we had pizza delivered, and a kid came over like a half-an-hour later, and he was like, do you have any leftovers⁴? I'm really hungry. And I was like, are you serious? And he was like, yes, I'm like -- I'm hungry. And I went, well, come on. Here. Take it, the rest of it.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Cummings made some calls an helped organize a program called Kids Cafe. Now each day after school, she passes out fresh food dropped off by a local food bank.

　　MICHELE CUMMINGS: OK, go sit at your tables.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: The kids call Cummings the lunch lady, a point of great pride for her, because not long ago, she and her 9-year-old daughter, Sofia, didn't always have enough nutritious⁵ food either.

　　MICHELE CUMMINGS: No problem.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: When Cummings lost her job, her life spiraled out of control. Stable housing can be hard to come by in a place where average rents top $1,200 for a one-bedroom.

　　They found themselves in line at the armory's homeless shelter, then living in a low-rent motel where it was difficult to prepare little more than cheap processed food.

　　MICHELE CUMMINGS: Like, at first, we were just doing microwave meals every -- every night. And it was -- just, like, it was horrible. The salt in them was horrible. So before I got, like, cooking stuff, you know, we were living off microwave meals, definitely.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: For Cummings' health, it was a recipe for disaster. Within months, she gained close to 40 pounds. That worried her. But even more so, she worried about Sofia, and for good reason.

　　Recent studies by the National Institutes of Health suggest that a lack of nutritious food, especially during childhood, can have long-lasting physical consequences that linger for years, if not decades, among them, anemia⁶, early onset⁷ diabetes⁸, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, depression, stunted⁹ intellectual growth, and obesity¹⁰.

　　It's that last point that many find hard to reconcile, the presence of malnutrition¹¹ and obesity at the same time. But most processed foods, while high in calories, simply don't contain the nutrients¹² that are so crucial for good health and productivity.

　　There's also evidence that the body stores fat differently in times of stress, and that alternating between eating more when cash and food are plentiful¹³ and less when they're not triggers the body's feast-or-famine reflexes. The result? Weight gain.

　　Barbara Laraia of the University of California at Berkeley has been studying the long-term impacts of hunger for two decades and says it all means the nutritional¹⁴ odds¹⁵ are stacked against low-income families.

　　BARBARA LARAIA, University of California, Berkeley: So we have the stressful situations where, you know, the body is saying I need some energy, reach for the cookie, and at this point in time in the United States, cookies and snack foods are everywhere.

　　So not only is the income restriction¹⁶ leading to purchasing energy-dense foods, but it's the stress as well that absolutely leads to the perfect storm of gaining weight, possibly developing chronic¹⁷ disease. And it might be associated with later chronic disease for children.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: That's why, with one in five children sometimes going without meals in the community surrounding Disneyland, Orange County has begun approaching the issue like a public health crisis.

　　It started when O.C. public health officer Dr. Eric Handler ran into the director of the Orange County Food Bank recently and had two basic questions.

　　DR. ERIC HANDLER, Orange County Health Care Agency: One, is there enough food in your food bank? And he said no. And I said it, if we were able to capture food that is wasted and direct it to people in need, could we end hunger in Orange County? And he said yes. And that was the start of this campaign.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: About 40 percent of food in the U.S. is wasted, too often ending up in local landfills and buried. With that in mind, Handler started pushing the idea that businesses can easily change their habits and have an impact.

　　So for the past few months, Handler and his team have been hitting the road in Anaheim.

　　DR. ERIC HANDLER: We are very hopeful that there will be significant increases in number of establishments donating food.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Hoping to target first the largest food producers, places like Disneyland, Angel Stadium, the Anaheim Convention Center, and the Honda Center.

　　DR. ERIC HANDLER: Our goal is to find out which establishments are currently donating food and which are not, and those who are not donating food, to educate them to the fact that they are not held liable if food is not correctly prepared.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: One of the companies working with the Waste Not O.C. Coalition¹⁸ has already shown the concept can work. The Cheesecake Factory near Disneyland donates 200 to 300 pounds of food each week that has been fully¹⁹ prepared, but left unserved.

　　In the last five-and-a-half years, the chain has stored, packaged and handed off more than two-and-a-half million pounds nationwide. Members of the local food banks pick up the food, which is often healthier than the packaged variety donated in food drives.

　　DR. PHYLLIS AGRAN, Pediatrician: Hi. How are you today?

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: On the consumer end, the Waste Not Coalition is also working to convince Orange County health care providers to ask questions about hunger during routine primary care visits.

　　DR. PHYLLIS AGRAN: Is there any time in the last couple of months that you have had difficulty financially purchasing adequate food, fresh fruits and vegetables for him or your family?

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: The idea is that people like Dr. Phyllis Agran stand the best shot at breaking through the stigma²⁰ and getting people the help they need. Agran agrees and has been willing to give it a try. But she also says local projects of this kind are just a piece of the solution.

　　DR. PHYLLIS AGRAN: More importantly, I think, as pediatricians, we have a responsibility to children to advocate at the local, the state and the federal level for policies that will eliminate food insecurity in this country.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Back in the neighborhood of Tina Pacific, things are looking up for Michele Cummings. She recently landed a job as a caretaker for the elderly, which means that she and her daughter have enough food and a better mix of it. Now that she has a kitchen, Cummings can buy in bulk, cook from scratch, and make her food stamp dollars last.

　　MICHELE CUMMINGS: Like, I wouldn't say I can buy whatever I want, you know? I don't barbecue steak every night, that's for sure. But I make it stretch.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: On the menu this night, reheated soup laced with fresh vegetables, not the most elaborate meal in Orange County, but at least it's healthy, she says, and enough.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Online, we have more about the ties between hunger, stress and weight gain, and a slide show of the other top counties in the U.S. for childhood hunger. That's on our Health page.

1 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

4 leftovers   

n.剩余物，残留物，剩菜

参考例句：

• He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。
• She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。

5 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

6 anemia   

n.贫血，贫血症

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。
• I was put on iron tablets for my anemia.我曾因贫血吃补铁药片。

7 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。

8 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

9 stunted   

adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• the stunted lives of children deprived of education 未受教育的孩子所过的局限生活
• But the landed oligarchy had stunted the country's democratic development for generations. 但是好几代以来土地寡头的统治阻碍了这个国家民主的发展。

10 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

11 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

12 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

14 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

15 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

16 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

17 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

18 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

19 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

20 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。