Being given food on volunteer shift

[thetinsoldier]

Am I being U here? I volunteer for a charity. On some shifts another volunteer brings in home-cooked dishes - eg rice, pasta - for the other volunteers to take home.

But she gives us the food at the end of a 3-hour shift. The food has not been in a fridge for the shift. AIBU to chuck out the food? Would you eat it?!

Ah I’d probably eat it but just cook to piping hot but I’m very laidback about food!

Absolutely not.

What do you imagine has happened in three hours?

Totes fine.

Why are you accepting food just to throw it?

That's a really horrible thing to do.

Far better to refuse and to thank them whilst being honest about your storage concerns.

Rice no, most other things excluding fish and meat I’d be fine with. But I think it’s better to not accept it than to take it home and bin it

Would you eat it?!

Yes, I'm much more relaxed about food storage than some posters are on here.

AIBU to chuck out the food?

Yes, YABVVVU to accept a kind gift and then throw it away.
Absolutely fair enough if you don't want to eat it, but all you have to do is say "No thanks" or "Not for me" or "No, I've already prepared something for dinner, thanks, so it won't get eaten" etc.

What a waste!

I’d probably eat it, if it looked nice and wasn’t something prone to going off.

If I didn’t want it, I’d say ‘it looks amazing but I’m going out later and I don’t want it to go to waste’ or something, so not take it. Taking it knowing it’s going straight in the bin seems quite rude.

Three hours outside the fridge is fine, I’d have no issue with this, but don’t take it to chuck it, thays awful just decline.

Just say no if you aren't going to eat it. Wouldn't bother me. Food at BBQs, buffets are out longer and I often leave dishes out overnight if I run out of fridge space.

It depends on when the food was cooked. Was it made only a couple hours before the shift or the night before? Why don't you suggest to her to keep it in the fridge, especially with the warmer weather? But don't throw the food. If you have no intention to eat it, just don't accept it.

Why are you accepting food and binning it?

I wouldn’t eat it. I do have a sensitive stomach and am very risk averse when it comes to food hygiene. I wouldn’t be honest about your concerns either as you’re likely to offend so just make up an excuse that you’ve prepped something or are going out. If someone insisted I took it I’d throw it away.

I would eat it.

It would really depend on what it actually was and did I think they had a hygienic kitchen and how had they stored it. Was it cooked the night before or do they bring it in freshly cooked. I wouldn’t accept if I was not going to eat it or give to someone else. Lots of people have brought in home made cake over the years, I always take a piece to have later and then just give it to DH who will happily eat anything and is like Martin out of Friday night dinner. My parents had a restaurant so my standards are high. I went to a school Mums house for coffee once and her cats were on the worktops, she offered me a sandwich. I declined, she made herself one and proceeded to make it on the worktop, not on a board or plate. Where her cat had just happily sauntered along. That’s the sort of reason I am wary of peoples cooking.

I wouldn’t accept random food cooked by someone I don’t really know well anyway. But it’s fine to be at room temperature for 3 hours as long as you refrigerate when you home and heat to properly hot to eat.