More British turn to food banks as bills soar

Friday, May 27, 2022 - 01:00

Print Edition?World

?For many struggling families, older people and the homeless, Michelle Dornelly’s food hub in East London has been a lifeline.?Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Britain, she has been collecting surplus groceries from supermarkets and distributing them to people who can't afford to buy food.

對于許多陷入困境的家庭、老年人和無家可歸的人來說，米歇爾·多內(nèi)利(Michelle Dornelly)位于東倫敦的美食中心一直是他們的生命線。自新冠肺炎疫情爆發(fā)以來，她一直在超市收集多余的食品雜貨，分發(fā)給買不起食品的人。

lifeline /?la?fla?n/?n. 1.（水上救援的）救生索。2.（深海潛水員的）信號繩。3.命脈；生命線?The extra payments are a lifeline for most single mothers. 額外補(bǔ)助對大多數(shù)單身母親來說都是賴以生存的生命線。

Dornelly offers groceries and free hot meals every week to several dozen regulars in Hackney, an inner London borough?with high rates of inequality: almost half of all children there are in poverty. Since the winter, at least 30 to 40 new people have been referred to her, she says.

Dornelly每周向哈克尼區(qū)的幾十名?？吞峁┦称冯s貨和免費(fèi)熱餐。哈克尼是倫敦的一個(gè)行政區(qū)，貧富不均的情況非常嚴(yán)重：那里幾乎一半的孩子都處于貧困之中。她說，從去年冬天開始，至少有30到40個(gè)人被介紹給她。

borough ?/?b?r?/ ?n. 自治市鎮(zhèn)；（城市）行政區(qū)? the London borough of Westminster 倫敦的威斯敏斯特自治市

The cost of food and fuel in the U.K. has risen sharply, with inflation reaching 9% in April — the highest in 40 years. The same month, millions of families saw their annual energy bills jump by 54%,?amounting to?an extra 700 Pounds (US$ 863) a year on average for each household. Another energy price hike is expected in October, as Russia’s war in Ukraine and rebounding demand after the pandemic push oil and natural gas prices higher.

英國食品和燃料價(jià)格大幅上漲，4月份通脹率達(dá)到9%，為40年來最高。同月，數(shù)百萬家庭的年度能源賬單上漲了54%，平均每個(gè)家庭每年多支付700英鎊(863美元，約5924元)。隨著俄羅斯在烏克蘭的戰(zhàn)爭和疫情后需求反彈推高石油和天然氣價(jià)格，預(yù)計(jì)10月將再次上調(diào)能源價(jià)格。

All of our organisations are reaching out to us saying, ‘We need more food,’ more families are approaching us. The people we’re seeing have got even less to make ends meet,” said Rachel Ledwith, head of community engagement at the Felix Project, a charity that redistributes surplus groceries from the food industry to about 1,000 charities and schools across London. - THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

“我們所有的組織都向我們伸出援手，說到：’我們需要更多的食物’，越來越多的家庭向我們求助。我們看到的這些人甚至連收支平衡的能力都沒有。”費(fèi)利克斯項(xiàng)目(Felix Project)的社區(qū)參與負(fù)責(zé)人蕾切爾·萊德維茲(Rachel Ledwith)說。費(fèi)利克斯項(xiàng)目是一家慈善機(jī)構(gòu)，將食品行業(yè)多余的食品雜貨重新分配給倫敦各地約1000家慈善機(jī)構(gòu)和學(xué)校。（悉尼先驅(qū)晨報(bào)）

herald ?/?her?ld/ 動(dòng)詞1.是（某事）的前兆；預(yù)示?。?These talks could herald a new era of peace. 這些談判可能預(yù)示著新的和平時(shí)代的來臨。2.~ sb/sth (as sth)宣布（好或重要）?The report is being heralded as a blueprint for the future of transport. 這份報(bào)告被宣稱是未來運(yùn)輸?shù)乃{(lán)圖。名詞1.預(yù)兆??The government claims that the fall in unemployment is the herald of economic recovery. 政府宣稱失業(yè)人數(shù)減少是經(jīng)濟(jì)復(fù)蘇的先兆。 2.（舊時(shí)的）信使，傳令官，使者

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英文鏈接：http://www.dailynews.lk/2022/05/27/world/279635/more-british-turn-food-banks-bills-soar