On Varun Medhal’s phone is a picture of 750 pounds (340kg) of groceries — every thing from pies to ground meat — packed tightly into a car. All of it was taken to Mary’s Mission, a shelter for the homeless, last Thanksgiving, he explained.
“To date, we’ve delivered 21,000 pounds of food that would have been wasted,” said Medhal, 18, a high school graduate from Illinois.
Last summer, Medhal started a group called Unseen Cuisine. It collects food that is past its sell-by date from businesses and delivers it to shelters for the homeless. Throughout their senior year, Medhal and eight other students teamed up for three deliveries a week to nearby shelters.
Now those students hope to spread the mission at the universities they are attending in the fall and get more students involved. “The ultimate goal for us … is to end food waste and end hunger, not only in America but hopefully the whole world,” Medhal said, “I know that’s pretty ambitious.”
During a family trip to India in the summer of 2021, Medhal said he was affected by seeing people beg in the streets. That image stayed with him.
But while Medhal and his team have been honored for their work, he said that his team had been most rewarded by their interactions with people who live and work at the shelters.
They said that they had come to a new understanding of their privilege and responsibility toward others. “A lot of people didn’t choose necessarily to be in the position that they’re in. It’s a lot of luck wherever you’re born,” said Nick Motta, 18, one of Medhal’s teammates.
Medhal said he wanted to make Unseen Cuisine a registered nonprofit, which he believed would make the group’s efforts more reliable for people. He has also recruited nine other students to continue the work while he starts university in Illinois.
“To me, it’s pretty amazing that a group of students can make such a difference,” Medhal said. “If we can just keep doing that, I think it will go a long way.”
【小题1】What is the purpose of Unseen Cuisine?| A．To build a shelter for the homeless. | B．To collect and give food for the homeless. |
| C．To call on teenagers to stop food waste. | D．To try his best to help Mary’s Mission. |
| A．The sight of people begging in India inspired him to start Unseen Cuisine. |
| B．The university he is attending in the fall hopes to spread his mission. |
| C．He thinks that people have no choice but accept wherever they’re born. |
| D．He was able to make Unseen Cuisine a registered nonprofit finally. |
| A．Optimistic and knowledgeable. | B．Brave and independent. |
| C．Cooperative and humorous. | D．Responsible and devoted. |
| A．A promising establishment. | B．Young people’s responsibility. |
| C．Food for the homeless. | D．Making a big difference. |
