Đề thi VSTEP Listening B2 — Urban Farming Initiative in Portland (Round 2)

Good evening. This is KMTV Evening News. Our top story tonight concerns an ambitious urban farming initiative launched yesterday by the city council of Portland, Oregon. The program, called 'Green Blocks,' aims to convert a hundred vacant lots across the city into community vegetable gardens within the next three years. According to project director Lisa Hernandez, the first phase will focus on fifteen neighborhoods identified as 'food deserts,' where residents currently have limited access to fresh produce. Each site will receive funding of up to five thousand dollars for soil preparation, irrigation systems, and seedlings. Hernandez emphasized that local volunteers, rather than professional contractors, will carry out most of the work. The council has allocated a total budget of one point two million dollars for the first year, and applications from neighborhood associations will open next month. Critics, however, have questioned whether the gardens can be maintained long-term without sustained funding, and whether the produce will actually reach the families who need it most. The council plans to address these concerns at a public hearing scheduled for next Friday.