聯(lián)邦政府支持下的車輪上的餐飲為老人提供服務

聯(lián)邦政府支持下的“車輪上的餐飲”為老人提供服務

Usually Meals on Wheels means home delivery or lunch at a senior center. For more than 50 years, the federal government has been funding the program to make sure older Americans get the nutrition they need. Now, a project in Vancouver, Wash., is trying to use those funds for something new: a retro-hip diner, where seniors can get eggs, coffee, and community.

“車輪上的餐飲”通常指的是送貨上門或在老年人中心吃午飯。50多年來，聯(lián)邦政府一直在資助這個項目，以確保美國老年人獲得他們所需的營養(yǎng)?，F(xiàn)在，華盛頓州溫哥華的一個項目。該公司正試圖將這些資金用于一項新業(yè)務:一家復古風格的餐廳，老年人可以在那里享用雞蛋、咖啡和社區(qū)服務。

On the surface, The Diner looks like any other diner. Servers making sure the coffee is topped off, local business people having meetings, regulars who know the whole menu. There are the usual diner specialties, with some modern nods.

從表面上看，這家餐廳和其他餐廳沒什么兩樣。服務員負責給咖啡加滿，當?shù)氐纳虅杖耸吭陂_會，熟識整個菜單的?？?。這里有常見的餐廳特色菜，有一些現(xiàn)代的小吃。

"They play Frank Sinatra in the mornings, and it makes me so happy," says Autumn Zukauskus, who comes for breakfast weekly. "Eggs and Frank Sinatra: perfect breakfast."

“他們早上和弗蘭克·辛納特拉比賽，這讓我很開心，”每周來吃早飯的秋祖考斯庫斯說。“雞蛋和弗蘭克·辛納特拉：完美的早餐。”

But when a younger patron like Zukauskus reaches for her credit card, seniors like Chris Bingenheimer pull out a little green dining card.

但是，當像祖科斯庫斯這樣的年輕顧客拿出她的信用卡時，像克里斯·賓根海默這樣的老年人會拿出一張小小的綠色餐卡。

"If you can donate, you do. If you don't, you don't," Bingenheimer explains. "And it's no big deal to them."

“如果你能捐，你就捐。如果你不想捐，就不必捐。”“這對他們來說沒什么大不了的。”

That's because the entire diner is a project of the local organization Meals on Wheels People.

這是因為整個餐車是當?shù)亟M織“車輪上的餐飲”的一個項目。

If you look closer, you'll notice a few differences from other restaurants. The chairs are on casters, to scoot out easily if they need to make space for a wheelchair. The coffee cups have large handles, to accommodate arthritic fingers. The building and finishes were designed and selected to minimize noise and maximize comfort.

如果你仔細觀察，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)一些與其他餐館的不同之處。這些椅子裝在腳輪上，如果需要為輪椅騰出空間，可以很容易地挪開?？Х缺陌咽趾艽螅梢匀菁{患關節(jié)炎的手指。建筑和飾面的設計和選擇都是為了最大限度地減少噪音和最大限度地提高舒適性。

Suzanne Washington is the CEO of Meals on Wheels People, which serves about 5.000 meals a day. Most of these are home delivery, and about a third are in senior centers. But people don't always want to go to a senior center.

蘇珊·華盛頓是“車輪上的餐飲”組織的首席執(zhí)行官，該組織每天提供大約5000份餐點。其中大部分是上門服務，約三分之一在老年人中心。但是人們并不總是想去老年人中心。

"We heard lots of folks say it was just too much of a stigma to go," Washington says.

華盛頓說:“我們聽到很多人說，這實在是太丟人了。”

Some baby boomers think senior centers are just for their grandparents. Or they're still working, and can't get away for lunch. So, Washington thought, 'Why not try a restaurant?'

一些嬰兒潮時期出生的人認為老年人中心只適合他們的祖父母?；蛘咚麄冞€在工作，不能出去吃午飯。所以，華盛頓想，‘為什么不去餐廳試試呢?’

"A restaurant that is inter-generational. It's good food," says Washington. "And at the same time, the paying public can help offset the cost of those in our program."

“一家跨代餐廳。這是很好的食物，”華盛頓說。“與此同時，付費的公眾可以幫助抵消我們項目的成本。”

There's a slightly different menu for participating seniors — like an added fruit cup or a glass of milk — to meet nutritional requirements. And some regular menu items aren't part of the program.

老年人參與的菜單略有不同——比如一個額外的水果杯或一杯牛奶——以滿足營養(yǎng)需求。一些常規(guī)的菜單項目不屬于這個項目。

But the menu is still delicious, and the diner's been averaging 140 subsidized meals each month. They've signed up an average of 38 new members per month — about three times the number that sign up for Meals on Wheels at their traditional senior centers. And those who come for the meal donate more for it — the average donation is $2.46. which is four times higher than the donation at a senior center. And for an organization that provides 1.2 million senior meals annually, every increase is significant.

但是菜單仍然很美味，而且每個月平均有140頓補貼餐。他們平均每月注冊38名新會員，這是他們傳統(tǒng)老年中心“車輪上的餐飲”注冊人數(shù)的三倍。而那些來吃飯的人捐得更多——平均捐款2.46美元，是老年人中心捐款的四倍。對于一個每年提供120萬份老年人餐食的組織來說，每一筆增加都意義重大。