This morning besides road rage guy being behind me again, in a brand new Monte Carlo none-the-less, I was amazed by a story on the news. A family was kicked out of an all you can eat restaurant in Iowa.
Now, the first thought that came to mind is that the family, like some others I have heard about, spent 2 or 3 hours there eating more than their share. Nothing wrong with that, its an all you can eat place and well if you pay, why not. To my surprise, as the story was being told, they were actually kicked out for taking food, then a little bite and throwing the whole plate away.
What amazed me was not that this happens, but that the DJs on the radio were actually defending the family behavior. Their position was that they paid for the all you can eat buffet, so they should be able to get as much food and do with it as they pleased. What was even more amazing to me was the wacky DJs then switched to having people call in with stories of stealing food from an all you can eat buffet.
I am not sure if anyone of you has ever done this, I honestly cannot remember ever stuffing my pockets with egg rolls. I do however respect someone that does that a little more than someone that throws food away.
The family’s defense was the following…
”They told us we are not welcome there anymore,” said Dershem, a repeat customer at the Dragon House buffet. ”We waste too much food. But the buffet is all you can eat. And you know kids. They won’t always eat everything, and they want something else.”
The all you can eat restaurant replied with this…
“Shes done that too many times,” Cao said. “We would welcome her back if she has respect and knows what she wants.”
The people from the restaurant had observed the family on previous trips and this seemed to be a common occurrence. I do know kids, and yes they can be very wasteful in an all you can eat buffet, but after the first time in a new place I believe they know what they like and don’t. It is also the parent’s responsibility to either limit the kids on what they take or actually go serve their kids plate. I don’t agree with the free for all kids are kids, lets take four egg rolls eat half of one and waste the rest.
I worked at the fast food restaurant with the golden arches for a number of years. It was when I first moved to the US and was still learning the culture here. It was hearth breaking to me to see how much food was being wasted there every day when I came from a place where food was only thrown away if it was spoiled. There was always a neighbor or a less fortunate person that would get the food if my family could not eat it. One of my managers told me once to not make such a big deal, was I going to take the food to the starving kids in Africa?
Wasting food has always been something that bothers me. As I moved up at the restaurant I made sure that towards the end of the night or a food change, less and less food was prepared so the food wasting was kept to a minimum. It was good for profits and the owners liked it. Actually the restaurant is set up to do that very efficiently, but lazy people would prepare extra food so if we had a rush there would always be enough. I obviously don’t work there anymore, but I am still very mindful of food wasting.
One of the things that I always heard my family said when they came back to Colombia to visit and I was still living there was that the US was a disposable society. Everything was to be used and disposed of. I did not fully understand their statement until I moved here. We compromise so many things for the sake of convenience. I am not implying that the restaurant owner here was doing it because he does not believe in wasting food or is an advocate for ending world hunger. For all I know his main concern is the bottom line. The statement that makes me almost believe other wise is the one that has the word respect. I just wish that as a society it would not be ok to take a full plate of food and waste it.
World, Hunger, All You Can Eat, Buffet, Food, Kids, Parenting, Restaurant, Waste.
and better yet, lets make it a meme! So grab the list and put an asterix or bold the movies that you have seen… post them in your blog and start the virus… don’t forget to comment, linkback and trackback! and of course share with others!