VOA双语新闻：儿童餐室帮助低收入家庭儿童

　　In the United States, many low income parents cannot afford to buy enough food for their children. A program called Kids Café is helping 1 some of these children by providing free nutritious 2 snacks and meals during after-school programs.

在美国，许多低收入的父母没钱给孩子买足够的食物。一个叫作“儿童餐室”的项目在学校放学后，为这这些孩子提供免费营养点心和餐饮。

At a community center in Virginia just outside of Washington, D.C., children make an avocado and bean dip as part of their after-school program. Many of them have never seen an avocado.

在维吉尼亚州临近首都华盛顿的阿灵顿市，孩子们正在用鳄梨和豆子制成蘸酱。这是这个课外项目的一个内容。很多孩子从来没见过鳄梨。

"It’s very healthy for your body, but the main thing is that it tastes really, really good," Keith Clements tells them. He's with Arlington Parks and Recreation, which runs the after-school program.

这个课外项目是由阿灵顿公园及休闲处赞助的。负责这项活动的基思·克莱门茨鼓励孩子们尝一尝这种蘸酱的味道。他说：“它对你们的健康非常有益。但最主要的是，它好吃极了。”

The children are between the ages of five and 11 and are from several local schools. About half have parents who are from Ethiopia. Many of the children eat traditional Ethiopian food at home. Kids Café, with food donated by a food bank, gives them an opportunity to try different types of food.

孩子们的年龄在5岁到11岁之间，来自几个不同的学校。其中半数的父母来自埃塞俄比亚。很多孩子在家里吃埃塞俄比亚的传统食物。“儿童餐室”获得食品银行捐赠的食物，让孩子们有了一个尝试不同食物的机会。

"It's good," says one girl.

Rebecca Nance 3, whose parents are from the United States, is not so sure. "The taste is weird 4."

丽贝卡·南斯的父母是美国人。

Her mother, Daffany Nance has two children in the program. She's glad her kids are getting nutritious food.

母亲达凡妮·南斯有两个孩子参加这个课外项目，她很高兴两个孩子可以得到营养食物。

"Even in my house we don’t have much junk food," says Nance, "so it’s very important that it’s healthy and continues to help them grow and be nourished 5 in the proper manner."

达凡妮说：“我们在家里也不吃很多垃圾食品。所以这个项目给孩子们提供营养食物、继续帮助孩子们健康成长，非常重要。”

The charity, Feeding America, launched the national Kids Café program in 1993. The organization says more than 16 million children in the United States live in households where there is not enough food to eat.

慈善机构“喂养美国”于1993年发起全国性的“儿童餐室”项目。这个慈善组织说，美国有1,600万儿童生活在食物不足的家庭里。

Kids Café became part of the after school program at this community center five years ago. Lori McFail heads the after-school program. She says some children do not eat well-balanced evening meals because their parents work late or cannot afford healthy food.

5年前，“儿童餐室”成为这个社区中心儿童课外项目的一部分。课外项目负责人洛里·麦克费尔说，有些孩子吃不到营养平衡的晚餐，因为他们的父母不是工作到很晚，就是买不起营养食物。

"Some of them have reported that they don’t get enough food," says McFail.

The children are encouraged to share what they've learned with their families.

麦克费尔说，她鼓励孩子们回家后，把他们学到的食品制作方法，告诉家里人，在家里如法炮制。

Clements says recipes, like this avocado dip, are easy to make. "It’s a very kid friendly recipe because anyone can do it. You really don’t need any special utensils 6."

正在教孩子们制作蘸酱的克里门茨说：“这些都是孩子们很容易做的食谱。因为每个人都会做，你根本不需要任何特别的炊具。”

The children are taught about the nutritional 7 value of foods.

他还说，孩子们也学习各种食品的营养价值。

"It doesn’t give you any fat or sugar in it," says one girl.

女孩：“它不会带给你脂肪或糖分。”

They also learn which foods are good for them.

"You should always eat vegetables and fruits every day to give you muscles," says a boy named Matthew.

男孩：“你得每天吃蔬菜和水果，才能长肌肉。”

McFail hopes the children will apply what they've learned about nutrition throughout their lives. "I love the fact that I can come here, and know that they’ve eaten, and they're full and they're happy."

麦克费尔希望，孩子们在这里学到的营养知识能够让他们受益终生。他说：“我很高兴来这儿工作，知道他们吃过了，吃饱了，而且很快乐。”