I have been working as a banquet server at one of Halifax’s major hotels since last summer. The food which they serve is supremely healthy and scrumptiously variable: heaping slabs of smoked salmon, piles of clustered mussels and oysters in their characteristic sauces, sirloin tender steak seasoned in a delicate broth. Apart from the ordered meals per person, there are about three times as much “extra’s” just in case more people come. More people never come and there remains about 300 leftover meals daily in hot boxes for dinner ONLY, to be thrown in the garbage.
I have never witnessed so much waste in all my life. We, as employees, cannot even eat it because of “health” reasons. The hotel gives us this perfunctory answer about how they will be held responsible if any of us become “fatally sick” from food allergies, as if food allergy concern can only be avoided by paying customers.
There are programs (Meals on Wheels) who are ecstatic to pick up all the excessive, unused foods and transport it to all of the needed, deserved locations to be consumed. It is of pure laziness and ill-will to see that these pertinent resources are not being utilized.
—benquetress
This article appears in Feb 4-10, 2010.
and as soon as you have a crazy night and all those people from meals on wheels that have a responsibility to deliver have no food….
what then?
take it to a shelter perhaps but don’t donate irregular amounts to organizations where people depend on it.
Yes . I’m with you there ZZZ . Well put . But atleast give it to the shelters , the soup kitchens or just plain hand it out to needy hungry street bums . I can see the point of the bitch though .
Hahaha.. I think zZz just had an accident in his pants while reading the first four sentences of that bitch….. Relax and breathe z…. relax and breahe……
other than the mollusks, I’d be on that like shit on velcro.
considering the lunch I brought today… ug…
gimme some surf and turf any day.
That’s nothing !
I’ve worked for the Military & they throw out fresh fruit that has been put out & not taken by anyone…apples, banana’s, pears, in their skins…into the dumpster…but what really freaked me out was they did that with individual milk cartons…take them out of the ice they sit in & throw the unopened containers in the dumpster, along with cans of pudding all individual servings…all unopened, crackers , cookies , all of it still sealed in its wrappings …into dumpster it goes ! ! !
When I enquired…I was told ” It is policy to not take chances ” but please fill your pockets after everyones been through the line ! The whole idea is Fucked IMO
But I can sort of see why that is…you see, they have a never ending supply of money!
That’s right you & I are seen as the ever ready supply of cash…if they waste too much & need more, simply raise taxes & we get to pay for it.
Isn’t that a great plan & a wonderful system ?
Aren’t you a proud Canadian now ‘eh ?
the issue alot of time is prepared food and the evil health department getting involved because food is in the danger zone for spoilage and companies don’t want to take a chance on law suits
Like me Mom always said, there are starving people in Africa who would be happy to have what your having. Same goes for Spryfield, Sackville, and Preston. Try taking the food out there in a bullet proof van.
Which hotel is this? Where is their dumpster located? I’ll take it!
There is no excuse for the food we waste in this society…but much of the responsibility DOES lie with our court system that allows for excessive awards…The hotels are covering their asses from liability BS lawsuits. It IS a disgrace. Fast food outlets actually put padlocks on their dumpsters.
And yet…when those same lawyers win a big fat award from the same corporation for, say, cutting down some trees, being mean to an Arab women, or harming some spotted toads….you people all CHEER and think it’s great, don’t you?
Psst…Que…it says here they padlock them…
Evil health dept?…
You must take into account the following information…
Potentially hazardous foods, as in, all of the foods you mentioned have time limits once cooked. After they are cooked to the proper internal temperature, they need to be properly cooled within 4 hours and then stored in refrigeration. If at any point during this process temperature abuse occurs, the chances of foodborne pathogens growing increases dramatically. This is not even taking into account cross-contamination events, which again, increase the chances of foodborne illnesses. Since people who need these services may not be young/healthy individuals, they need to be helped. Foodborne illnesses are rough enough on young/healthy people let alone those who maybe old, sick and immuno-compromised.
While I fully agree with the pre-packaged/un-opened foods going to these programs, I cannot agree at all with what was said about already cooked foods.
Protecting the public means protecting every single member, young/old/healthy/sick… Just something else to think about.
d… Explain exactly how a closed container of refridgerated milk should be thrown away ?
OR canned goods…which have months & months of shelf life…but you put them out (still sealed) & no one takes it, you throw it away ?
Same goes for fruit…I’ve been hanging my banana’s from this stupid tree thing my kid gave me for years…they’ll hang there for over a week & still be edible…but they put them out on display for lunch…& then throw them away !
I’ve seen the same thing with apples & oranges etc.
IF cross contamination of fruit still in its fucking peelings was such a massive food poisoning problem…Why do supermarkets put out displays of fresh fruit ?!?!?!?
yea whatever D i’ve got my food safe/handlers certificate got 96% on the exam; i’m talking about the overkill as a result from litigation or the threat of lawsuits that cripple legitimate donation of foodstuffs