“小饭桌”从字面上来看自然就是吃饭的地方。因为经营规模不大，所以有个“小”字;而之所以叫“饭桌”是因为每天只提供一两餐饭，并不像常规营业的餐馆有各色菜式。

“Small dining table”(xiao fan zhuo in Chinese) is a commonly accepted name for lunch services provided by schools, communities or private homes for primary and middle school students who live far away from schools or whose parents are too busy to prepare lunch.

“小饭桌”指学校、社区或者居民家庭为离家远或者父母无暇准备午餐的中小学生提供的午餐服务。

The business quite probably started from setting up a dining table and cooking some lunch for those students. That’s why it is called “small dining table”.

这门生意很可能就是从支起一张餐桌、给孩子们做顿午饭开始的，所以才会有“小饭桌”这个名字。

As business grows, their services expand too. Nowadays, a typical “small dining table” provides not only lunch services, but also after school pickup and tutoring.

随着餐桌生意扩大，他们提供的服务也增加了。如今，“小饭桌”提供的常规服务除了午餐以外，还有放学接孩子，以及功课辅导等。

This “small dining table” business appears to be a win-win solution for both busy parents and people who have a hard time finding a job, but the challenges and risks behind this should not be neglected.

“小饭桌”对忙碌的家长和失业一族来说似乎是个双赢的出路，但是这背后隐藏的挑战和风险也不容忽视。

According to news reports from chinanews.com and xinhuanet.com, many “small dining table” operators do not have business permits or health certificates, and sanitary conditions are inconsistent due to lack of supervision'.

据中新网和新华网的报道，很多“小饭桌”经营者都没有经营许可证和健康证，对厨房的卫生状况也缺乏监督。

Starting this month, the food and drug administrations in Shandong province, Liaoning province, and Inner Mongolia autonomous region launched a registration system for “small dining tables” in the region. Information on all the registered “tables” will be made public and those violating rules and regulations will be blacklisted.

从今年3月起，山东、辽宁、内蒙古等地的食品药品监督管理局推出“小饭桌”登记制度。所有登记在册的“小饭桌”信息都将进行公示，违反相关法律法规的经营者将被列入黑名单。