EPISODE 193
LEVEL B1/B2

READING COMPREHENSION

 

Organic Food Delivery

Interest in eating healthier, and in supporting organic food producers and local farmers, is higher than ever before, so this green business idea capitalizes on that trend and helps to make it easier for people to eat organically grown and produced foods, without having to leave their house. If you love helping people to make better choices in their diets, and in making connections between organic food producers and consumers, then starting an organic food delivery service might be for you.

1. What is an organic food delivery service?
Many people want to buy and eat healthier, organic, products, but for one reason or another (e.g., too busy, don’t know what to buy, can’t get to the grocery store/farmer’s market), they don’t. Organic food delivery services help solve this issue. Some deliver a bag of veggies every week or every other week, direct from the farm. Others do pre-made meals, box lunches, and the like. Interest in organic foods has been skyrocketing for more than a decade, and the industry has enjoyed 20%+ revenue growth annually. Despite the recession of ’09, organic foods have continued to grow, albeit a little more slowly. Two trends combine to make an organic food delivery service a solid option for aspiring entrepreneurs. One is how busy people are. The other is interest in chemical-free food that is more nutritious than conventionally produced food. Neither trend is likely to do anything but accelerate.

2. What required knowledge or skills are necessary?
There are no formal educational or training requirements for running an organic food delivery business. The ability to coordinate customers’ wants with the available organic produce you can find for them (and there are a lot of ways to go about this) is the only real trick to the business, although knowing the ins and outs of the organic food industry is a huge plus. Connecting with local organics producers can also help to make this a viable business, as being able to cut out the middleman puts you in a strong position to get the best deals for your customers.

3. How much money is required to start? A delivery vehicle of some sort is required, although that could be as simple as a bicycle with a cargo trailer, and having a location that can serve as a short-term storage solution and preparation area (including perhaps a refrigerated storage area) will make it easier to scale up your business. Investing in some basic marketing materials, such as flyers, business cards, or a website, can also be helpful in getting the word out about your organicfood delivery service.

4. What is the income potential?
If  your delivery service can successfully differentiate itself from other grocery or food delivery services (such as by focusing on local and independent organic food producers), or attract larger clients, such as restaurants, B&Bs, or offices, then the income potential for this type of business could be much higher than if it just focused on the market for individual organic foods consumers.
Adapted from www.ecopreneurist.com

 

Ex. 1 Find the words or expressions in the text which mean the following:

1) bringing sth to sb’s home: __________
2) a shop where you can buy food: __________
3) prepared before: __________
4) to increase dramatically: __________
5) although: __________
6) rich in healthy and energetic elements: __________
7) necessary: __________
8) to improve your business: __________
9) to give money to sth hoping for profit: ___________
10)to stand out: __________
11)to encourage: __________
12)with a short period of time in mind: _________

 

Ex. 2 Match the expressions from the two columns into logical collocations:

1. interest                                       procedures
2. to capitalize                              the word out
3. organic food                             and outs of sth
4. to solve                                      in sth
5. aspiring                                     potential
6. customers’                                an issue
7. the ins                                        business
8. a viable                                      wants
9. to get                                          on sth
10. income                                     entrepreneurs

 

Ex. 3 Provide English equivalents of these expressions:

1) targ warzywny
2) wzrost wpływów
3) w skali roku
4) pomimo czegoś
5) przyspieszać
6) prowadzić działalność
7) dostępny
8) zabrać się do czegoś
9) wyeliminować pośredników
10)pojazd
11)ulotka
12)wizytówka

 

Grammar corner…

There are several interesting adjectives in the text that are made of more than one word. They’re called, guess what, multi-word adjectives, and the term explains itself. Most of the time is just enough to put more than one word together in front of a noun, join them with hyphens (-) and … ready. So for example, a story that is never to be forgotten is a NEVER-TO-BE-FORGOTTEN story:-) Practice makes perfect.

 

Ex. 4 Express the phrases using compound adjectives

1. a device which can be used for many purposes is a …
2. an action that you take to defend yourself is …
3. a machine that is easy to use and doesn’t cause any problems for the user is a …
4. a man who made his own career without any help is a …
5. a cosmetic that doesn’t damage the environment is …
6. a cross country skiing competition in which everybody starts at once (as a mass) is a …
7. something you don’t have to pay any duty or tax for is …
8. an internet service that doesn’t require any cables is a …
9. a device you don’t have to operate using your hands is a …
10.a glass of juice that has been squeezed from a fresh orange is a …

 

GLOSSARY

delivery  – dostawa
a grocery store  – sklep spożywczy
pre-made  – uprzednio przygotowany
to skyrocket  – wzrosnąć gwałtownie
albeit –  jakkolwiek
nutritious – pożywny
required  – wymagany
to scale up a business  – zwiększyć prestiż firmy
to invest in sth  – zainwestować w coś
to differentiate from sth  – wyróżniać się na tle czegoś
to attract sb  – przyciągnąć kogoś
short-term –  krótkoterminowy
interest in sth  – zainteresowanie czymś
to capitalize on sth  – zarabiać na czymś
organic food procedures  – przygotowanie żywności naturalnej
to solve an issue  –  rozwiązać problem
aspiring entrepreneurs  – aspirujący przedsiębiorcy
consumers’ wants  – zachcianki klientów
the ins and outs of sth  – tajniki czegoś
a viable business  – dochodowe przedsięwzięcie
to get the word out –  reklamować coś
income potential  – potencjał generowania zysków
farmer’s market  – targ warzywny
revenue growth  – wzrost wpływów
annually  – w skali roku
despite sth  – pomimo czegoś
to accelerate  – przyspieszyć
to run a business  –prowadzić działalność
available  – dostępny
to go about sth – zabrać się do czegoś
a vehicle  – pojazd
to cut out the middleman –  wyeliminować pośredników
a flyer – ulotka
a business card  – wizytówka

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>>Answers

 

ANSWER KEY:
Ex. 1
1) delivery
2) a grocery store
3) pre-made
4) to skyrocket
5) albeit
6) nutritious
7) required
8) to scale up a business
9) to invest in sth
10)to differentiate from sth
11)to attract sb
12)short-term
Ex. 2
1) interest in sth
2) to capitalize on sth
3) organic food procedures
4) to solve an issue
5) aspiring entrepreneurs
6) customers’ wants
7) the ins and outs of sth
8) a viable business
9) to get the word out
10)income potential
Centrum Języków Obcych Archibald poziom B1/B2
Ex. 3
1) farmer’s market
2) revenue growth
3) annually
4) despite sth
5) to accelerate
6) to run a business
7) available
8) to go about doing sth
9) to cut out the middleman
10)a vehicle
11)a flyer
12) a business card
Ex. 4
1) … a multi-purpose device
2) … a self-defense action
3) … a user-friendly machine
4) … a self-made man
5) … an environmentally-friendly cosmetic
6) … a mass-start-cross-country-skiing competition
7) … a duty-free item
8) … a wireless-internet service
9) … a hands-free device
10)… a freshly-squeezed juice

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