Ninety-Year-Old 'Chef of the Poor' Cooks for Rome's Homeless
2020-02-17
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1Dino Impagliazzo cuts onions like a professional cook.
2The Italian man makes a great vegetable soup, but most of his longtime "customers" can't even pay for a piece of bread.
3Working with the energy of a much younger man, the 90-year-old, Impagliazzo is known as Rome's "chef of the poor."
4Three days a week, he sets out to gather food with other volunteers.
5They are all part of RomAmoR (RomeLove), a group that he started.
6The volunteers go to markets and bakeries to collect donated food.
7The other four days of the week, RomAmoR volunteers cook food and serve it in different places across the city.
8Such efforts help Impagliazzo live out his dream of feeding the homeless.
9It all began 15 years ago when a homeless man at a Rome train station asked Impagliazzo for money to buy a sandwich.
10"I realized that perhaps instead of buying one sandwich, making some sandwiches for him and for the friends who were there would be better, and thus began our adventure," he said.
11On Saturday nights, a RomAmoR group sets up in an area protected from bad weather outside St. Peter's Square.
12This is where they feed the growing number of homeless who sleep in the area.
13It is also where Pope Francis has opened spaces for medical and bathing places for the homeless.
14Impagliazzo once worked for Italy's social security department.
15He launched his work to feed the needy with a handful of other retired people.
16They quickly went from making sandwiches to cooking more complex hot meals.
17They first started at home. Later, they cooked in a convent, a building that houses religious women.
18Now there are more than 300 RomAmoR volunteers, both young and old.
19They use their own fully equipped kitchen.
20Impagliazzo recently received an award from Italian President Sergio Mattarella.
21He was recognized as a "hero of our times."
22He never dreamed his idea would become so successful, or create such good will.
23On a recent Saturday night near the Vatican -- where the Pope lives -- four extra volunteers showed up.
24"I am happy because we never tell anyone 'we don't need you tonight'," he said. "They stay among us."
25I'm Anne Ball.
1Dino Impagliazzo cuts onions like a professional cook. The Italian man makes a great vegetable soup, but most of his longtime "customers" can't even pay for a piece of bread. 2Working with the energy of a much younger man, the 90-year-old, Impagliazzo is known as Rome's "chef of the poor." 3Three days a week, he sets out to gather food with other volunteers. They are all part of RomAmoR (RomeLove), a group that he started. The volunteers go to markets and bakeries to collect donated food. 4The other four days of the week, RomAmoR volunteers cook food and serve it in different places across the city. 5Such efforts help Impagliazzo live out his dream of feeding the homeless. 6It all began 15 years ago when a homeless man at a Rome train station asked Impagliazzo for money to buy a sandwich. 7"I realized that perhaps instead of buying one sandwich, making some sandwiches for him and for the friends who were there would be better, and thus began our adventure," he said. 8On Saturday nights, a RomAmoR group sets up in an area protected from bad weather outside St. Peter's Square. This is where they feed the growing number of homeless who sleep in the area. It is also where Pope Francis has opened spaces for medical and bathing places for the homeless. 9Impagliazzo once worked for Italy's social security department. He launched his work to feed the needy with a handful of other retired people. 10They quickly went from making sandwiches to cooking more complex hot meals. They first started at home. Later, they cooked in a convent, a building that houses religious women. 11Now there are more than 300 RomAmoR volunteers, both young and old. They use their own fully equipped kitchen. 12Impagliazzo recently received an award from Italian President Sergio Mattarella. He was recognized as a "hero of our times." He never dreamed his idea would become so successful, or create such good will. 13On a recent Saturday night near the Vatican -- where the Pope lives -- four extra volunteers showed up. 14"I am happy because we never tell anyone 'we don't need you tonight'," he said. "They stay among us." 15I'm Anne Ball. 16Emily G. Roe wrote this story for Reuters. Anne Ball wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 17How do people help feed the hungry in your city? What do you think of this story? Write to us in the comments section below. 18________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20chef - n. a professional cook who usually is in charge of a kitchen in a restaurant 21sandwich - n. two pieces of bread with something (such as meat, peanut butter, or other food) between them 22realize - v. to understand or become aware of 23adventure - n. an exciting or dangerous experience 24kitchen - n. a room in which food is cooked