VOA标准英语2013--College Students Rescue Leftover Food, Feed the Poor

College Students Rescue Leftover¹ Food, Feed the Poor

University of Maryland student Ben Simon and his friends couldn't stand to see good food thrown out on their campus. 

“We basically noticed that some of the extra food from the dining hall was going to waste at the end of the day. And we met with the dining services and asked them whether it would be okay if instead of throwing out the food we would donate it. And they were on board," he said. 

So 18 months ago, the students began what they call the Food Recovery Network. Each night, volunteers would show up at a campus dining hall to pick up leftovers² and deliver them to area shelters and food banks.

“When we started, we collected a little bit more than we currently do now, so maybe between [45 kilograms] to [90 kilograms] of food per night.”

So far, they have donated more than 23,000 kilos of food that would otherwise have been thrown out. 

The amount of wasted food was also reduced when school officials removed trays from the dining hall. Rob Fahey is the chef.

“We do not use trays because it is proven that students fill up a tray. And this way they only pick up the plates and they can only grab so much food. And then they can go back in line to get more food if they want. That prevents wastage for that," he said. 

Nationwide, $165 billion worth of food is wasted each year, according to the National Resources Defense³ Council. Spokesman Bob Keefe says that is about 40 percent of the country's entire food production.

“If we can reduce our waste in this country by 15 percent, we can feed 25 million hungry Americans. That is a huge benefit. That is what programs like this Food Recovery Network are doing," he said. 

Christian⁴ Life Center is one of the beneficiaries of the students' efforts. Ben Slye, the senior pastor⁵, said, “It has been just amazing to see these students take their own time, their own vehicles and own gas money and be able to make an effort like this. Each week we are able with this food probably to feed over hundred people.” 

The University of Maryland's Food Recovery Network now has 200 volunteers and the program has expanded to 18 schools across the country.

“I want to grow 18 chapters to a thousand chapters within five years. And once we get to the Food Recovery Nation being at every college campus in America, we want to expand to restaurants to farms," said Simon. 

The volunteers are committed to making that happen. 

1 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

2 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。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。