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本帖最后由 I'm_zhcn 于 2009-6-21 23:54 编辑
【中文标题】各校在免费午餐上动足脑筋
【原文标题】School systems juggle cost of free lunches
【登载媒体】USA TODAY
【来源地址】http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-06-10-schoollunchinside_N.htm
【译者】vivicat
【翻译方式】人工
【声明】本翻译供Anti-CNN使用，未经AC或译者许可，不得转载。
【原文库链接】http://bbs.m4.cn/thread-172671-1-1.html
【译文】
School systems nationwide are trimming lunch menus, buying more food in bulk and delaying purchases of kitchen equipment to offset the costs of serving free or reduced-price lunches to millions of newly eligible students from cash-strapped families.
全国的学校都在修改他们的午餐菜单，购买更多的大包装食物并且推迟购买厨房设备，借此来削减因提供免费午餐，或为数以百万计的新增的贫困家庭减免午餐费而产生的开支。
Record enrollment in subsidized meal programs has school systems large and small stretching already paper-thin budgets to ensure that students are well-fed and ready to learn. No region seems immune.
创纪录的招生人数使得学校免费午餐服务范围扩大，而原本已如纸般薄的、旨在保证学生营养充足以及正常学习生活的预算更是捉襟见肘。似乎每一个地区都未能逃过此劫。
BACKGROUND: More students on free lunch programs
背景：有更多学生享受免费午餐
In New York City, which has the nation's largest school system, 73% of students received free or discount lunches this year, up from 71% in 2007-2008. In Chicago, participation jumped to 84.3% from 82% in 2007-2008 and 75% the year before. Dade County, Fla., schools saw a 3.8% jump, to 66.7%.
在纽约有全国最教育系统，享有免费午餐或餐费减免的学生由2007年的71%上升至2008年的73%。在芝加哥，该比例在2007～2008年间由82%上升至84.3%，而前一年只有75%。在佛罗里达州的戴德县该比例却降低了3.8%，达到66.7%。
Districts get a federal reimbursement for each lunch they serve, but that reimbursement typically comes up 15 to 50 cents short for every meal, depending on whether state and local governments kick in additional money, according to the School Nutrition Association, which represents school lunch officials.
管理学校午餐的学校营养协会的官员称，每个地区都会因他们提供（免费）午餐而获得经济上的补偿，但由于补贴费用取决于州政府或当地政府是否有额外的经费，普遍每餐的补贴都减少了15～50美分。
FIND MORE STORIES IN: New York
更多消息：纽约时报
Covering the shortfall
弥补（资金）短缺
Twenty-two states and some cities, such as Bridgeport, Conn., provide additional meal subsidies to schools, but most districts' food departments have to cover the balance. Nationwide, that amounts to millions of dollars a day that schools pay from their own budgets to augment federal subsidies, the association says.
22个州和城市，例如康涅狄格州的布里奇波特，为学校提供额外的餐费补贴，但多数地区的粮食部门不得不（减少贴以维持）收支平衡。营养协会称，在全国，学校每天要从自己的预算中支付出数百万美元补充进联邦的补贴。
The Mesa, Ariz., school district, near Phoenix, doesn't get any money from the state to help feed its kids, though 3,000 more students qualified for free and discounted meals this academic year. To pay for the increase, the district manages food "down to the last student," says Loretta Zullo, director of food and nutrition. Instead of having all the food ready when lunch starts, elementary schools "cook while the kids are coming through the line, so you don't end up with three pans of pizza or burritos left," she says.
在亚利桑那州的的梅萨，靠近菲尼克斯的一个教学区，尽管今年有超过3000名学生有资格享有免费午餐或减免午餐费，但学校并没有从政府那里获得资助。为了支付这些费用，该地区将均分食物“直到最后一个学生（也有）”食品与营养协会主任Loretta Zullo说道，“现在小学都在学生过来排队时才开始烹饪午餐，”以此取代在午餐前就准备好所有食物的做法，“这样的话就不会到最后还剩下3份皮萨或是墨西哥卷。”
qThe 33-cent muffin on a fruit and yogurt breakfast plate was popular, "but we couldn't afford it," Zullo says, so it was dropped in favor of a whole-grain cracker that costs only 11 cents.
33美分的松饼，并搭配有水果和酸奶的早餐很受欢迎，“但是我们买不起”Zullo说道。因此早餐变成了只要11美分的全麦饼干。
Indianapolis public schools cut expenses by purchasing supplies "by the truckload" and storing the food at a central facility that prepares meals for delivery to individual schools, says Velda Hamman, director of food services. Menu choices are limited to save money, even at the high schools, she adds. "We don't do junk food.
印第安纳波利斯的公立学校靠（一次性）采购一卡车的用品，并将食物储存在一个为私利学校准备餐点的后勤中心，来减少开支，食品服务主任Velda Hamman说道。食物的选择受到限制，以此来节约金钱，甚至于在高中也是如此。“我们不浪费食物”她补充道。
In Indianapolis, 83.6% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunches this year, up slightly from previous years. At 51 of its 72 schools, all students eat for free because such a high percentage qualify on the basis of family income that the district waives the fee for everyone, as permitted by federal law
在印第安纳波利斯，今年有83.6%的学生有资格享受免费午餐或午餐费减免，人数比上年略有增加。当地72所学校中，有51所学校的学生全都享有免费午餐，由于众多家庭都因为其收入有资格（享有免费午餐或减免餐费），因此州议会在法律允许前提下免除了所有人的餐费。
In Jackson, Miss., the school system pays about 50 cents on top of the federal subsidy for each of the 25,500 lunches it serves daily, says food services director Mary Hill. "We have to be very creative to keep up," she adds, noting that she has put off kitchen equipment purchases.
在密西西比州的杰克逊城，食品服务主任May Hill称，学校为每天所提供的25,500份午餐，从联邦补助中最多拿出大约50美分/份（作为补贴）。“我们不得不灵活应对”她补充道，她推迟了购买厨房设备（的计划）。
To qualify for a free school lunch, a family of four can have an income of no more than $27,560 per year under the 2008-2009 federal guidelines. For a reduced-price lunch, the limit is $39,220.
根据2008~2009联邦条例，一家四口年收入低于$27,560的家庭才有资格享有免费午餐。减免午餐费的标准是年收入低于$39，220。
Poor economy spurs demand
经济的不景气促生了更多免费午餐的需求
School officials blame the economy for the rising need.
学校官员将不断增长的（免费午餐）的需求怪罪于经济（不景气）。
In Seattle, Tom Ogg, the assistant director of nutrition services, says, "There's been a steadier stream of families applying this year than in years past" for free and subsidized meals.
在汤姆奥格的西雅图，营养服务的助理主任说道：“相比去年，申请免费午餐及餐费减免的家庭有所提高。”
Parents are supposed to pay 30 cents for a reduced-price breakfast and 40 cents for reduced-price lunch. But Washington state and the district cover the co-pay for all breakfasts and for lunches for the youngest kids, in kindergarten through third grade, to ensure they get two good meals a day.
减免餐费后，早餐家长需要支付30美分，午餐则是40美分。但是华盛顿州和特区将共同为最小的孩子（幼儿园至三年级）支付所欲的早餐和午餐，以确保他们每天能有良好的两餐。
Bad as things are, some districts expect the worst is yet to come.
而糟糕的是，对一些地区来说，最坏的还在后头。
The Los Angeles Unified School District, second-largest in the country, saw its free and reduced-price program expand by 8,800 students over the past school year, covering 78% of its student body. As many as 20,000 more are expected for next year, says Manish Singh of the food service department. That's because families receiving food stamps or certain other types of government assistance have been made automatically eligible for subsidized lunches by the federal government.
在洛杉矶联合校区，美国第二大校区，在过去两年里，享有免费午餐和餐费减免的学生人数增长了8,800人，占学生总数的78%。而据食品服务部的Manish Singh说，明年预计将增加20,000人。这是因为有粮票或受到其他政府补助的家庭将自动获得联邦政府的午餐补贴。
Singh says officials hear about a lot of families in which one or both parents have lost jobs. "I've had a couple of families who were in the $110,000 to $120,000 bracket and dad lost his job and now they're $30,000 and suddenly the parents are keen to qualify," says Singh.
Singh说，他们了解到许多父母都其中一个或者双双事业。“我认识一对夫妇，他们过去的收入在$110,000至$120,000之间，但爸爸失业了，现在他们只有$30，000的收入，然后一下子他们就有了（免费午餐或减免餐费）的资格。”Singh说道。
He says he saw one family in which the father had lost his job but the mom said, " 'My husband doesn't want to apply for unemployment benefits — he wants to look for a job.' " The district worked out a deal where the father provided documentation showing he'd been laid off, so the children could get free lunches. "You have to handle it delicately," Singh says. "The family's already going through a tough time."
他说他见到过一对夫妻，丈夫失去了工作，不过那位妻子说：“‘我丈夫不想申请失业救助金——他想再找一份工作。’”官员为这位父亲开了一份失业证明，这样的话他的孩子可以获得免费午餐。“你必须要这样巧妙地处理，”Singh说道，“这些家庭早已进入困难时期。”
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, expects the need will continue to grow. "We're going to see more layoffs, more unemployment," he says. "So you're going to continue to see a significant number of people who will become eligible for the first time."
教育与劳动议院委员会主席，加州众议员George Miller认为这个需求会持续增长。“将会有更多人被裁员，更多的人没有工作。”他说，“因此你会看到将不断有相当多的人首次获得（免费午餐或减免餐费）的资格。”
翻译交流见 板凳
第一段“借此来削减……”似乎说成“借此来抵消”会更好些
rhapsody 发表于 2009-6-21 16:22  |
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