Steve Inskeep （Host）： A healthy diet can be good for everyone. But as people get older， cooking nutritious food can become tough. Sometimes it’s physically impossible. A pot of soup can be too heavy to lift， and there’s all that time standing on your feet. That’s one of the reasons that people move into assisted living facilities. A company in Madison， Wis.， has an alternative； they send professional chefs into seniors’ homes. And in a couple of hours， they can whip up meals for the week. NPR’s Ina Jaffe covers aging and filed this report. Sina Sundby： First things first， get the cookies in the oven. Ina Jaffe （Byline）： Chef Sina Sundby is a blur in the kitchen. The oven and all four burners are going. She’s in the home of 85-year-old retired surgeon Jim Schulz.

Jim Schulz： She herself is very nice to be with. We chatter a lot when it’s just the two of us. And even if I don’t say anything， she keeps talking.

Jaffe： He’s not kidding.

Schulz： I stepped out of the room one day—out of the kitchen here—and I heard her talking， going on. And I said， who are you talking to？ She said， I’m talking to the food.

Sundby： I do talk to the food， and you know that， right？ Schulz： That’s what makes it so good. They listen to her， I guess.

Jaffe： Sina Sundby has been cooking for Jim Schulz for more than a year. She knows what he likes. So this week’s dinners will be Salisbury steak with mushroom 1）gravy， crab cakes with 2）remoulade sauce and 3）asparagus， 4）chicken divan with fresh 5）spinach and chicken pot pie with vegetables.

Sundby： Jim likes biscuits， so we’re doing， instead of the pie， the pie 6）dough， we’re gonna do biscuits.

Jaffe： Schulz never made this kind of stuff for himself. When it comes to the kitchen， he’s mastered the art of boiling water. His wife was a good cook， he says， but she died 14 years ago. So he ate whatever he could buy frozen and 7）shove in the microwave.

Schulz： I was 8）anemic. I had lost a lot of weight， and it was obvious my diet was 9）lousy.

Jaffe： But that’s not Jim Schulz’s problem anymore， according to his doctor.

Schulz： The last time I saw him was three months ago. He says， we can go a lot longer， you’re doing so well.

Jaffe： According to some estimates， there are hundreds of thousands， maybe even a million seniors living in their own homes who are 10）malnourished. In long-term care facilities， up to 50 percent may suffer from malnutrition， and this leads to increased risk for illness， 11）frailty and falls.

Barrett Allman： The number of seniors out there who aren’t eating properly is shocking to me.

Jaffe： That’s Barrett Allman， co-founder of Chefs for Seniors. He’s been a chef for 22 years， running everything from a seafood place on the Oregon coast to a restaurant in a small town near Madison that specialized in comfort food.

B . A l l m a n ： C h e e s e anything with cheese in it.

Jaffe： The inspiration for Chefs for Seniors was Allman’s wife’s grandmother. When she could no longer cook for herself， the family decided she had to enter assistedliving. That was 10 years ago.

B. Allman： She’s still there—and not happy.

Jaffe： The family talked about if only—if only there’d been a way for her to have the food she needed and remain in her home. Then about two years ago， the Allmans’ 21-year-old son， Nathan， a University of Wisconsin student， turned his family’s longing into a business.

Nathan Allman： I entered this idea for Chefs for Seniors into the Burrill Business Plan Competition down on campus here at UW Madison.

Jaffe： And he won his category.

N. Allman： That’s how we received our—what they call startup funds.

Jaffe： A thousand dollars， plus mentoring.

N. Allman： The next week， my dad quit his job， and we were off and running.

Jaffe： Part of the business plan is keeping the service affordable. The client pays $30 an hour for the chef’s time. That’s usually a couple of hours a week. Chefs for Seniors now has 50 to 60 clients and employs around 10 chefs. They talk about expanding their territory. They talk about 12）franchising. But right now， Barrett Allman still consults with every new client and is there the first time the client and the new chef meet. He cooks for the most challenging cases—the people with severe disabilities or people in 13）hospice care.

B. Allman： And when you can say to them， how about you go sit down and I got this—you know， I can’t solve all the problems in that senior’s life， but as a chef， the least I can do is make them food.

Jaffe： Chef Sina Sundby is taking the food she made for Jim Schulz and packing it into single-portion containers ready for the microwave.

Sundby： So you see what we got here， right， Jim？

Jaffe： Schulz is attentive as she labels each meal.

Schulz： When she leaves， I’m exhausted.

Sundby： （Laughter）

Jaffe： But he’s got a week’s worth of nourishing dinners to build up his strength for his chef’s next visit.

史蒂夫·英斯基普（主持人）：健康的飲食對每個人來說都是有益處的。但是，當人們逐漸變老后，烹飪營養(yǎng)豐富的食物變成了艱難的事。有時候是力不從心：一鍋湯也會變得沉重難拎，而且他們不能站得太久。這就是為什么老年人會選擇養(yǎng)老院的原因之一。位于威斯康辛州麥迪遜的一家公司，（為老年人）提供了另外一個選擇。他們安排專業(yè)的廚師上門為老年人服務。在短短的幾個小時內(nèi)，他們就可以為老年人準備一個星期的食物。下面是NPR新聞老年專刊的艾娜·杰夫帶來的采訪報道。

辛娜·桑德貝：首先，從烤箱里拿曲奇餅。

艾娜·杰夫（撰稿人）：廚房里到處都是辛娜·桑德貝廚師忙碌的身影?？鞠浜腿克膫€爐子都開著。她在85歲的退休外科醫(yī)生——吉姆·舒爾茨家里。

吉姆·舒爾茨：她很容易相處。當只有我們兩個在一起的時候，我們聊得很多。而即使我不說話，她也會說個不停。

杰夫：他沒有開玩笑。

舒爾茨：有一天，我走出房間，在廚房的外面，就是這里，我聽到她說，“繼續(xù)。”我問她，“你在和誰說話？”她說，“我在和食物說話?！?/p>

桑德貝：我確實和食物說話。你知道的，是吧？

舒爾茨：這使得食物非常美味。我想，食物們很聽她的話。

杰夫：辛娜·桑德貝為吉姆·舒爾茨做飯已經(jīng)一年多了。她知道他喜歡吃什么。所以這個星期的配餐將是索爾茲伯里牛排配蘑菇汁，蟹肉餅配蛋黃醬和蘆筍，雞肉餡餅配新鮮的菠菜，還有雞肉派配蔬菜。

桑德貝：吉姆喜歡吃餅干，而不是餡餅、餡餅面團。所以我們正在準備，準備做餅干。

杰夫：舒爾茨自己從來不做這些。在廚房里，他只會燒開水。他說，他愛人做菜很棒，但是她14年前就過世了。所以他只能買冷凍食品，在微波爐里熱著吃。

舒爾茨：我以前有貧血癥，而且消瘦了很多，顯然，我的飲食糟透了。

杰夫：但是，據(jù)醫(yī)生說，那些不再是吉姆·舒爾茨的問題了。

舒爾茨：我最近一次看醫(yī)生是在三個月前。他告訴我，我現(xiàn)在的身體很健康，我們可以隔久一些再見面。

杰夫：據(jù)估算，成千上萬，甚至百萬老人生活在自己家中，他們都有營養(yǎng)不良的問題。在長期護理中心里，深受營養(yǎng)不良困擾的老人達到50%，這就增加了疾病、身體虛弱和跌倒的風險。

巴雷特·奧爾曼：飲食不當?shù)睦夏耆藬?shù)量大得讓我吃驚。

杰夫：這是巴雷特·奧爾曼，他是“為老年人提供廚師”這個服務的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人。他做了22年的廚師，什么都經(jīng)營過，從俄勒岡州海邊的海鮮檔到麥迪遜附近小鎮(zhèn)的餐館。這個餐館專門提供家常菜。

巴雷特·奧爾曼：所有食物都加入了奶酪（美味但不健康）。

杰夫：“為老年人提供廚師”這個靈感源自奧爾曼妻子的祖母。當她年老了，再也不能為自己做飯的時候，家人決定送她去老人院。那是10年前的事了。

巴雷特·奧爾曼：她現(xiàn)在還在那里，但是不開心。

杰夫：家人總說，如果有途徑獲得她所需要的食物的話，她就可以呆在自己家里了。于是大約兩年前，奧爾曼21歲的兒子，當時讀于威斯康辛大學的內(nèi)森，把家人的愿望變成了一門生意。

內(nèi)森·奧爾曼：當時，麥迪遜的威斯康辛大學校園里舉辦伯里爾商業(yè)計劃創(chuàng)意大賽。我提出了“為老年人提供廚師”這個想法。

杰夫：他在比賽中勝出了。

內(nèi)森·奧爾曼：我們因此獲得了開始這門生意的啟動資金。

杰夫：一千美元，外加專業(yè)指導。

內(nèi)森·奧爾曼：接下來的那個星期，我爸爸辭掉了工作，我們一開始就經(jīng)營得很好。

杰夫：商業(yè)計劃的一部分是保證這種服務是大家消費得起的?？蛻舾督o廚師每小時30美元的薪酬，通常是每個星期幾個小時。“為老年人提供廚師”這個業(yè)務現(xiàn)在有50到60個客戶，雇了大概10個廚師。他們有考慮擴展業(yè)務的覆蓋區(qū)域，以及搞特許經(jīng)營。但目前，巴雷特·奧爾曼仍會與每一位新客戶商議。并且，在客戶和新廚師見面時，巴雷特·奧爾曼都會在場。他還為一些極具挑戰(zhàn)性的客戶準備食物，例如嚴重殘疾的或住在臨終關懷醫(yī)院的客戶。

巴雷特·奧爾曼：你可以跟他們說，“不如你坐下來，看看我給你準備了什么好吃的？”你知道，我不能解決老年人的所有問題，但是作為廚師，我至少可以為他們烹飪食物。

杰夫：辛娜·桑德貝廚師正在把她為吉姆·舒爾茨準備的食物打包放飯盒里面。一個飯盒里就是一餐的份量，隨時可以放到微波爐里面加熱。

桑德貝：那么吉姆，你清楚我們都準備了什么，對嗎？

杰夫：辛娜在給每頓飯打上標簽的時候，舒爾茨看得相當認真。

舒爾茨：她離開的時候，我都筋疲力盡了。

桑德貝：（大笑）

杰夫：但是他獲得了一個星期的營養(yǎng)食品。有了這些食物，他就有體力等待廚師的下一次上門服務了。