Bài đọc 1
A large white fridge has appeared outside the community centre in the village of Little Hampden, and anyone is welcome to take food from it, free of charge.
The "community fridge" was the idea of a group of local students who were worried about how much food is thrown away. Shops, cafés and families can put in food they no longer need, as long as it is still safe to eat. Anyone can then help themselves, without having to give their name or explain why.
There are a few rules. Food must be clearly labelled with the date it was made or the date it should be eaten by. Raw meat, raw fish and anything containing alcohol are not accepted, and home-cooked meals can only be left if they were cooked within the last twenty-four hours. Two volunteers check the fridge every morning and every evening and remove anything that is out of date.
In its first three months, the fridge has handled more than two tonnes of food. A bakery in the high street gives its unsold bread every evening, and a nearby farm brings vegetables that are too oddly shaped for the supermarkets. Last week, a wedding party left forty boxes of untouched sandwiches.
Organiser Priya Sharma, aged nineteen, says the fridge is used by all kinds of people. "Some are families who are finding it hard to pay their bills, but we also see students, pensioners and people who just hate seeing good food wasted," she says. "There's no shame in using it. That's the whole point."
The group now plans to open a second fridge at the railway station in the spring, and it is looking for more volunteers. Anyone who can spare an hour a week is asked to contact the community centre.