Volunteers at Food Angel's Sham Shui Po kitchen trim edible surplus vegetables that would otherwise have been dumped in landfills. EDMOND TANG/CHINA DAILY Action taken in city to help seniors and children Three years ago, a woman in Hong Kong surnamed Lo was malnourished and could not afford to buy food. She lives alone in a 5-square-meter closet, known as a subdivided flat, in Sham Shui Po, one of the oldest and poorest neighborhoods in the special administrative region. Before Lo, 77, learned about Food Angel-a meals program-three years ago, she was as thin as a rake. When she could, she tried to supplement her starvation diet by lining up for free food packs handed out by a few NGOs and some restaurants. At other times she cooked simple meals such as salted fish and vegetables for herself in her tiny apartment. Today, Lo receives two free, nutritious meals every day at Food Angel's community center in Sham Shui Po. On the day she was interviewed, braised pig trotters were on the lunch menu. A contented Lo said, I have gained weight since I began having the meals here. The meals have also helped ease her financial burden. The HK$3,500($446) monthly Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payment she receives from the Hong Kong government does not go very far. More than half-HK$1,900-goes for rent and utility bills, and the rest is spent on basic essentials, including medications and transportation. Lo's eyesight is poor, as she has cataracts. With two free meals a day, she is able to save a small amount of money to see a doctor. Occasionally she can afford to buy clothes. Founded in 2011, Food Angel, a program run by the Bo Charity Foundation, turns edible surplus food from supermarkets, restaurants and hotel kitchens into meals. The meals, which are balanced for nutritional value, go to grassroots elderly people and other low-income households in the city Monday through Friday. In the past seven years, Food Angel has prepared more than 6 million hot meals and food packages for people in need. Julian Chow Chung-man, Food Angel's senior manager (community partner engagement) said the group rescues about 4,000 kilograms of surplus food a day. Most of it is packed into recoverable boxes and delivered to social welfare organizations, homes for the aged and schools, while a small number of elderly people have their meals at our community center, he said. Daily life in Hong Kong produces mountains of edible surplus food, most of which is dumped into landfills as waste. As an alternative, Food Angel collects and recycles food which would otherwise be destined for these dumps. Most of it comprises fresh vegetables and raw meat, and is donated by some 300 supermarkets, wet markets, restaurants and hotels. After the food is taken to the Food Angel base in Lai Chi Kok, staff members and volunteers trim yellowing leaves off vegetables, then wash and chop the food before it is taken in trucks to two kitchens, where it is transformed into hot meals. cheap silicone wristbands for fundraisingcheapest place to buy silicone wristbandscrossfit silicone wristbandswristbands for eventsembossed-wristbandcheap silicone wristbands canadaprinted-wristband
List to be cut to '17 or 18' choices, including engineers and scientistsA senior Chinese space official announced the selection of the country's third batch of astronaut candidates on Monday and is expected to narrow the group down to 17 to 18 after more testing."The selection process covers three periods, and we will select both males and females," said Yang Liwei, head of the China Manned Space Agency and the nation's first astronaut.It was the first time Yang had appeared in public as the agency's head, having served as deputy head since 2010.The second group of astronauts recruited in 2010 had two women on a seven-member team."The total number of final candidates for the third group will be about 17 or 18. The types of astronauts covered are pilots, maintenance engineers and payload scientists," Yang said."Those new astronauts will attend to tasks related to our space station flight after completing their training," he said.The backgrounds and types of people eligible for recruitment will also be different from previous selections."The scope will cover not only pilots from the People's Liberation Army Air Force but also flight engineers and scientists from related industries, universities and institutions," he said.China selected its first group of 14 astronauts in 1998 and the second group 12 years later. All were accomplished pilots from the PLA Air Force, and they successfully completed a total of six manned space missions.The third round of selection was more complex than others because of new mission requirements, Yang said on China Central Television."We have invited more dedicated young people to join the recruitment process to help transform our nation into a space powerhouse," Yang said.China plans to start assembling its first space station in 2020. The facility, which will be designed to last at least 10 years, is scheduled to enter full service two years later. Each group of astronauts will occupy it for three to six months.Also on Monday, a special foundation established by Zeng Xianzi - founder of Hong Kong-listed Goldlion Group - honored 119 people who stood out during China's earlier space missions.The foundation, which was set up in 2004, aims to reward outstanding talent in the aerospace industry and has granted more than 57.9 million yuan ($9.2 million) to 369 people so far, including astronauts, scientists and project managers.Tuesday is China Space Day.
