联邦政府支持下的“车轮上的餐饮”为老人提供服务

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.

“车轮上的餐饮”通常指的是送货上门或在老年人中心吃午饭。50多年来，联邦政府一直在资助这个项目，以确保美国老年人获得他们所需的营养。现在，华盛顿州温哥华的一个项目。该公司正试图将这些资金用于一项新业务:一家复古风格的餐厅，老年人可以在那里享用鸡蛋、咖啡和社区服务。

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.

从表面上看，这家餐厅和其他餐厅没什么两样。服务员负责给咖啡加满，当地的商务人士在开会，熟识整个菜单的常客。这里有常见的餐厅特色菜，有一些现代的小吃。

"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."

“他们早上和弗兰克·辛纳特拉比赛，这让我很开心，”每周来吃早饭的秋祖考斯库斯说。“鸡蛋和弗兰克·辛纳特拉：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，当像祖科斯库斯这样的年轻顾客拿出她的信用卡时，像克里斯·宾根海默这样的老年人会拿出一张小小的绿色餐卡。

"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。”“这对他们来说没什么大不了的。”

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

这是因为整个餐车是当地组织“车轮上的餐饮”的一个项目。

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.

如果你仔细观察，你会发现一些与其他餐馆的不同之处。这些椅子装在脚轮上，如果需要为轮椅腾出空间，可以很容易地挪开。咖啡杯的把手很大，可以容纳患关节炎的手指。建筑和饰面的设计和选择都是为了最大限度地减少噪音和最大限度地提高舒适性。

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.

苏珊·华盛顿是“车轮上的餐饮”组织的首席执行官，该组织每天提供大约5000份餐点。其中大部分是上门服务，约三分之一在老年人中心。但是人们并不总是想去老年人中心。

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

华盛顿说:“我们听到很多人说，这实在是太丢人了。”

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?'

一些婴儿潮时期出生的人认为老年人中心只适合他们的祖父母。或者他们还在工作，不能出去吃午饭。所以，华盛顿想，‘为什么不去餐厅试试呢?’

"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."

“一家跨代餐厅。这是很好的食物，”华盛顿说。“与此同时，付费的公众可以帮助抵消我们项目的成本。”

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.

老年人参与的菜单略有不同——比如一个额外的水果杯或一杯牛奶——以满足营养需求。一些常规的菜单项目不属于这个项目。

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.

但是菜单仍然很美味，而且每个月平均有140顿补贴餐。他们平均每月注册38名新会员，这是他们传统老年中心“车轮上的餐饮”注册人数的三倍。而那些来吃饭的人捐得更多——平均捐款2.46美元，是老年人中心捐款的四倍。对于一个每年提供120万份老年人餐食的组织来说，每一笔增加都意义重大。