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happytree923 wrote: »Throw it away at work.
"But I don't want to offend them." If you have declined the food and they force it in you, they don't care about offending you. Stop worrying about their feelings.
I live in Texas, this is a cultural thing and they genuinely believe they are being caring. I’m not going to make a mountain out of a molehill and risk damaging relationships with coworkers. Getting along at work is about picking your battles wisely.
West Texas here, and yep, same thing. Giving food is seen as caring. I have the same issue at the Y (I'm a volunteer for an adult literacy program) and am constantly bombarded with all kinds of homemade goodies, no amount of "no thanks" will stop a 60 year old gramdma from bring you a dozen homemade tamales or brownies or lasagna, every week or so. I now just bring two or three divided lunch containers, fill them for myself and tell everyone that on my way home I'm dropping the rest of at CASA as I "don't want it to go to waste and can't eat all of it by myself" (CASA is a shelter for abandoned and abused children), not a single person found any offense to bringing homemade food to children that don't have a home.3 -
happytree923 wrote: »Throw it away at work.
"But I don't want to offend them." If you have declined the food and they force it in you, they don't care about offending you. Stop worrying about their feelings.
I live in Texas, this is a cultural thing and they genuinely believe they are being caring. I’m not going to make a mountain out of a molehill and risk damaging relationships with coworkers. Getting along at work is about picking your battles wisely.
West Texas here, and yep, same thing. Giving food is seen as caring. I have the same issue at the Y (I'm a volunteer for an adult literacy program) and am constantly bombarded with all kinds of homemade goodies, no amount of "no thanks" will stop a 60 year old gramdma from bring you a dozen homemade tamales or brownies or lasagna, every week or so. I now just bring two or three divided lunch containers, fill them for myself and tell everyone that on my way home I'm dropping the rest of at CASA as I "don't want it to go to waste and can't eat all of it by myself" (CASA is a shelter for abandoned and abused children), not a single person found any offense to bringing homemade food to children that don't have a home.
I might need to find something like that, I rarely see homeless people where I live (relatively cheap suburban area) so handing it out on the drive home isn't usually an option. Maybe I could throw it in a woodsy area near my apartment, I know there are some foxes around that might like it lol.2 -
happytree923 wrote: »happytree923 wrote: »Throw it away at work.
"But I don't want to offend them." If you have declined the food and they force it in you, they don't care about offending you. Stop worrying about their feelings.
I live in Texas, this is a cultural thing and they genuinely believe they are being caring. I’m not going to make a mountain out of a molehill and risk damaging relationships with coworkers. Getting along at work is about picking your battles wisely.
West Texas here, and yep, same thing. Giving food is seen as caring. I have the same issue at the Y (I'm a volunteer for an adult literacy program) and am constantly bombarded with all kinds of homemade goodies, no amount of "no thanks" will stop a 60 year old gramdma from bring you a dozen homemade tamales or brownies or lasagna, every week or so. I now just bring two or three divided lunch containers, fill them for myself and tell everyone that on my way home I'm dropping the rest of at CASA as I "don't want it to go to waste and can't eat all of it by myself" (CASA is a shelter for abandoned and abused children), not a single person found any offense to bringing homemade food to children that don't have a home.
I might need to find something like that, I rarely see homeless people where I live (relatively cheap suburban area) so handing it out on the drive home isn't usually an option. Maybe I could throw it in a woodsy area near my apartment, I know there are some foxes around that might like it lol.
Not to be difficult, but.... the food might not be suitable for animals (they might get sick), or the animals could become sort-of-tamed, used to the city and cause problems later on. Feeding wild animals without proper research might not be the wisest thing. I know you said lol at the end, but just to be sure
To your actual issue: I have had some similar issues, but I have found that usually a polite but honest ”no thanks, it would not get eaten at my home” is enough. If not, you could just try to institute a protocol where all leftover food gets donated directly to those who need it, or, here’s the kicker: if the people in your workplace claim they cannot eat those things because of their ”old metabolism” or whatnot, who is bringing those foods in the first place and why?
Also, at my workplace, whenever someone brings something, we just leave it on the table for everyone to snack on. If it needs to be kept in the fridge, maybe you guys could just put a sign on the door/fridge/wherever saying ”free X in the fridge, have a snack”. I’m guessing a lot of people are pretty happy to have a free afternoon snack.1 -
happytree923 wrote: »happytree923 wrote: »Throw it away at work.
"But I don't want to offend them." If you have declined the food and they force it in you, they don't care about offending you. Stop worrying about their feelings.
I live in Texas, this is a cultural thing and they genuinely believe they are being caring. I’m not going to make a mountain out of a molehill and risk damaging relationships with coworkers. Getting along at work is about picking your battles wisely.
West Texas here, and yep, same thing. Giving food is seen as caring. I have the same issue at the Y (I'm a volunteer for an adult literacy program) and am constantly bombarded with all kinds of homemade goodies, no amount of "no thanks" will stop a 60 year old gramdma from bring you a dozen homemade tamales or brownies or lasagna, every week or so. I now just bring two or three divided lunch containers, fill them for myself and tell everyone that on my way home I'm dropping the rest of at CASA as I "don't want it to go to waste and can't eat all of it by myself" (CASA is a shelter for abandoned and abused children), not a single person found any offense to bringing homemade food to children that don't have a home.
I might need to find something like that, I rarely see homeless people where I live (relatively cheap suburban area) so handing it out on the drive home isn't usually an option. Maybe I could throw it in a woodsy area near my apartment, I know there are some foxes around that might like it lol.
Not to be difficult, but.... the food might not be suitable for animals (they might get sick), or the animals could become sort-of-tamed, used to the city and cause problems later on. Feeding wild animals without proper research might not be the wisest thing. I know you said lol at the end, but just to be sure
To your actual issue: I have had some similar issues, but I have found that usually a polite but honest ”no thanks, it would not get eaten at my home” is enough. If not, you could just try to institute a protocol where all leftover food gets donated directly to those who need it, or, here’s the kicker: if the people in your workplace claim they cannot eat those things because of their ”old metabolism” or whatnot, who is bringing those foods in the first place and why?
Also, at my workplace, whenever someone brings something, we just leave it on the table for everyone to snack on. If it needs to be kept in the fridge, maybe you guys could just put a sign on the door/fridge/wherever saying ”free X in the fridge, have a snack”. I’m guessing a lot of people are pretty happy to have a free afternoon snack.
Yes, I know not to feed wild animals. I expect these animals tend to go through human garbage anyway but it was a joke. The food is brought because I work at a nonprofit with lots of volunteers coming through daily, and the food is there so the volunteers don't have to provide their own meals or snacks while they're working for free. Stuff like packaged cookies get left there until it's all gone but if it's Friday and we have something that won't last for very long that's when the pushing to take it home starts.0 -
happytree923 wrote: »happytree923 wrote: »Throw it away at work.
"But I don't want to offend them." If you have declined the food and they force it in you, they don't care about offending you. Stop worrying about their feelings.
I live in Texas, this is a cultural thing and they genuinely believe they are being caring. I’m not going to make a mountain out of a molehill and risk damaging relationships with coworkers. Getting along at work is about picking your battles wisely.
West Texas here, and yep, same thing. Giving food is seen as caring. I have the same issue at the Y (I'm a volunteer for an adult literacy program) and am constantly bombarded with all kinds of homemade goodies, no amount of "no thanks" will stop a 60 year old gramdma from bring you a dozen homemade tamales or brownies or lasagna, every week or so. I now just bring two or three divided lunch containers, fill them for myself and tell everyone that on my way home I'm dropping the rest of at CASA as I "don't want it to go to waste and can't eat all of it by myself" (CASA is a shelter for abandoned and abused children), not a single person found any offense to bringing homemade food to children that don't have a home.
I might need to find something like that, I rarely see homeless people where I live (relatively cheap suburban area) so handing it out on the drive home isn't usually an option. Maybe I could throw it in a woodsy area near my apartment, I know there are some foxes around that might like it lol.
Go talk to the police, most domestic abuse and children's shelters are fairly hidden from plain sight as they don't want the abusers and/or crap parents to find them easily. If they won't tell you outright where they are, they will offer to bring everything to them for you.3
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