Food waste is a growing problem throughout the world; on one hand, we've got so many people starving or living in food insecurity, and on the other hand, in places like Western Europe or the US people are wasting almost 50% of what they eat. It seems rational to find ways to send the excess food to the places where it's most needed, but that doesn't happen nearly as much as it should. With that in mind, people in Galdakao, Spain, took initiative.
全球的食物浪費形勢越來越嚴峻。一方面，很多人仍然在挨餓或者沒有足夠的食物；另一方面，西歐、美國等地區吃剩浪費的食物近50%。尋找方法把多余的食物送送到最需要食物的地方似乎是一種合理的選擇，但是這樣的現象并不經常發生。考慮到這一問題，西班牙加爾達考的人們積極采取了行動。

They launched what they call the Community Fridge – a regular white fridge placed in the middle of the town where anyone can drop food or leftovers and anyone can come in and take it. This one fridge has already saved 300 kg of food in just two months. The creators of the fridge are adamant that the service is not a charity – anyone can come and just take whatever food they want.
他們推出了一種“社區冰箱”，這個普通的白色冰箱被安置在鎮中心，任何人都可以把食物或吃剩的飯菜放在這，或來這取食物。這個冰箱在僅僅兩個月內已經節省了300千克食物。這個冰箱的發起者堅稱這項服務不是施舍，每個人都可以來，想拿走什么就拿走什么。

Of course, there are a few regulations though – you can't donate raw fish, meat or eggs, for health reasons. Also, all the food has to be within its expiration date and anything homemade should have a label with the ingredients; reasonable rules, and so far, the program seems to enjoy its success. Other Spanish cities have expressed interest in adopting their own Community Fridge.
當然也有些規定，為了健康起見，不能捐贈生魚、肉和雞蛋。而且，所有的食物必須在保質期內，自制食品必須添加標簽說明它的成分，這些都是合理的規定。到目前為止，這個項目似乎很成功。西班牙其他城市也對安置這種“社區冰箱”頗有興趣。

This is not the first time this kind of idea has been put forth. In Pumpipumpe in Switzerland residents place stickers on their mailbox to mark goods they can lend to neighbors and that works out just fine. A man in the Saudi city of Hail has also put a fridge outside his house and called on neighbors to fill it with food for the needy. However, in Yolo County, California, several University of California graduate students placed a community fridge on their lawn, sharing what they didn't need. People loved the idea and it worked just as it should, until the Yolo County Health Department caught wind of the experiment, they shut it down. County officials claimed the fridge was an illegal food facility.
此前也有類似的想法倡議。在瑞士的Pumpipumpe，當地居民在他們的郵箱上貼上標簽，標明哪些物品可以借給鄰居，效果還不錯。沙特海爾市的一名男子也在自家門外放了一臺冰箱，號召鄰居往里面放食物送給窮人。然而，在加州約洛縣，加利福尼亞大學的幾名研究生在草坪上安置了一臺社區冰箱，把他們用不著的食物分享給大家。人們覺著這個點子很贊，而且效果也不錯，直到約洛縣衛生部門聽說了這個嘗試，他們叫停了這個項目。縣官員稱這臺冰箱是非法的食品設施。

"He's started a food business. The food's not from an approved source. He can't guarantee its safety. There are so many unknowns that there is a high risk to the public,"said April Meneghetti, a Yolo County environmental health specialist.
約洛縣環境衛生專家阿普麗爾?梅內蓋蒂表示，“他開始做食品生意，食物的來源未經認可。他不能保證食品安全。仍有很多未知因素，這將給市民帶來很高的風險。”

That idea doesn't fly in the US, and it seems like some people would rather throw food away than risk sharing it with others, but I certainly think this idea is worth spreading. Sure, you need someone to verify the contents of the fridge periodically and take out the food that goes bad, but for 150 kg of food per month, with one fridge? I think that's worth it.
這種想法并沒有在美國流行開來，一些人似乎寧愿扔掉食物，也不愿冒險與別人分享，但是我的確認為這個想法值得傳播開來。當然，需要有人定期檢查冰箱里放的食物，把壞掉的食物拿出來。僅用一個冰箱，每個月就能節省150公斤的食物，我認為值得一試。

Vocabulary
adamant: 堅定不移的
catch wind of: 聽說

英文來源：zmescience.com
譯者：實習生馮佳佳
審校&編輯：許晶晶