food bank

比较简单的一篇财经文章

vocabulary：

hard up拮据，经济困难；financial crisis金融危机；redundancy裁员；welfare system福利体系

to fall into debt负债；a food bank食物银行（食物赈济处）；to get by勉强过活
limited stock有限的存货，库存有限；a referral（官方的）送交、移交，引见
to abuse the system滥用制度、体系；a voucher票券，代金券
a handout救济品；a ready meal现成食品；a beneficiary受益者，受惠者

When looking at Western Europe, we don't usually think about poverty - but in fact, some people in modern-day Britain are so hard up that they can't afford to buy food.

谈及西欧，人们通常不会联想到贫穷——但实际上，如今英国还有很多穷人，他们连食物都买不起。

Back in 2008, the financial crisis caused a lot of redundancies. Then there were the cuts to the welfare system in 2013 which added to the problem - and many British people fell into debt. It's estimated that 500,000 people in the UK have turned to food banks, just to get by.

回到2008年，金融危机导致了大量裁员。紧接着而来的2013年的福利制度削减更是雪上加霜——许多英国人陷入债务。据估计，英国有50万人需要求助于食品银行，而这仅仅是为了维持生计。

Steph Hagen, who works in a Nottingham food bank, says: "People do not go to a food bank because it's an open door. It's a case of they go to it because they need to. With our food bank - we are an independent one, and we have limited stocks - everyone who comes through our door has no income whatsoever."

在诺丁汉粮食银行工作的斯蒂芬·哈根说：“人们来这不是因为我们的大门是敞开的，而是因为他们确实需要——我们的粮食银行是一个独立机构，我们的粮食储备也有限——每个到我们这里来的人都没有任何收入。”

There are checks and referrals to make sure nobody is abusing the system. If a doctor or a social worker thinks someone needs to use a food bank - even for a short time - they can give them vouchers. Then the people in need take the vouchers along to the food bank and they get handouts for three days.

为确保这一系统不被滥用，还有专门的检查和监督。如果医生或社会工作者认为某人需要使用食物银行——即使是短期内——就可以把票给他们。然后，需要帮助的人把购物券带到食品银行，领取为期三天的救济品。

Churches and individual donors provide most of the food in the banks. But some businesses might help out too.

大部分食物来源于教堂和个人捐助者。但一些企业有时也会提供帮助。

And what sort of food is offered in food banks? Hagen says: "Basically, we've got porridge. We do occasionally get fresh produce but it's very rare, especially in the winter months. It's like, tinned fruit, tinned ready meals. We have to give out 'no-cooking' food parcels because people can't afford the gas and electricity".

那么食物银行都提供哪些食品呢？哈根透露说：“我们主要提供粥类食物，偶尔会有新鲜的农产品，但非常罕见，尤其是在冬季。会有罐头水果和即使罐头这类商品。由于人们支付不起燃气费和电费，所以我们只能分发一些“不需烹饪”的食品。”

Community spirit has a lot to do with food banks. Volunteers say they are a great meeting place for people who are lonely and depressed. And when facing a crisis, some beneficiaries might need to feed not only their belly - but also their soul.

社区精神和食物银行有很大关联。志愿者们表示，这给那些孤单失意的人提供了一个好去处。面临危机时，他们当中有些人可能不仅需要填饱肚子，还需要充实灵魂。