2007年VOA标准英语-Citizens' Group Gets Food to Needy Residents

By Jeffrey Young
Washington
01 May 2007
 

To most Americans, the governments in their towns and regional areas called counties are the governments they interact with the most. And alongside these local governments are groups of citizens who work on their own to make life better.

In this segment of a multi-part series, VOA's Jeffrey Young highlights the efforts of a non-governmental group to provide food to needy¹ residents in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Food. It is plentiful² in the United States, but some people cannot afford to buy it.  That is why Manna Food Center exists.

Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C., has an affluent³ appearance with lots of big homes and expensive cars.  But some people there do not share in that wealth. Many of these people have jobs and work long hours, yet their earnings⁴ cannot pay the high costs of living there. Sometimes, there is no food on their table.

Antonio Reyanna uses the food bank to help feed his family

Manna Food Center, a nonprofit private charity, gives food away so families such as Antonio Reyanna's do not go hungry. "We have a no-good salary,” he says. “We make like eight [or] ten dollars an hour. We have to pay rent, insurance for the car; sometimes we pay for the bus. You know, we don't make enough money to buy food. That's why we come here."

When people come to Manna Food Center, they get a box filled with fresh produce, bread, canned goods and meat.

Manna's Executive Director, Amy Gabala, says that box of food is a bridge between meager⁵ paychecks.  "We serve 2,000 families every month. So what that means is that we're giving 2,000 families each month a three-to-five day supply of food.  And this is food that enables them to tide themselves over when they run out of money at the end of the month," says Gabala.

And before people get free food, their needs are verified.  Recipients⁶ are referred to Manna Food Center by social service agencies, community groups, churches and other sources.

The food Manna gives away comes from a number of grocery stores in Montgomery County and the rest of the Washington, D.C. area.

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Barry Scher, Giant Food vice president

One of them is Giant Foods. Its vice president, Barry Scher, is enthusiastic about assisting the hungry through Manna. "What better outlet⁸ could we have for our food, which is safe but not saleable, than Manna Food Center?"

But Manna has to go out to Giant and other stores and pick up this food.  It starts early, as Manna's busy Operations Director, Donnell Foreman, explains. “Our drivers start at seven o'clock.  They go out to 22 different grocery stores in the morning. They bring it back here at 11:30. That's when the groceries are packed, and we're getting ready for distribution at 12 o'clock."

The people get their free food from noon until 3 p.m. Those who come reflect Montgomery County's diversity.  Some dress well enough to hide their poverty. But it is still there.

And sometimes that poverty can be the result of circumstances that keep people from earning a paycheck. That is Dennis Bocook's situation. "Well, I've been disabled and sick for a while, and my family has been disabled and they're sick. And my grandmother is getting old."

Dennis Bocook says this food bank means everything to his family. "If we didn't have Manna, we would be very hungry."

Montgomery County's government has assistance programs for the poor.  But hunger is immediate⁹ -- and that is where local charity groups such as Manna step in and make a big difference in the community.  Groups like Manna can be found across the United States. Because of them, there is more food on people's tables.

1 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

2 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。

3 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

4 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

5 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。

6 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。