To be annoyed that some one stole my lunch

[Nicpem1982]

I prepared a lovely pasta salad for work and some one has stolen it out of the communal fridge.

They've gone into my lunch bag, by passed the yoghurt and apple and stole my pasta.

So I've had to buy myself another lunch today which was over priced and crap.

Aibu to think that if you're that broke or have forgotten your lunch you just ask a colleague to help you out and not steal some ones lunch?

This has happened to me so many times. It's perplexing how anyone can feel it's acceptable to take someone else's food, shop-bought or homemade (both have happened to me). It's a horrible feeling, looking around at your colleagues and wondering who has the nerve to steal food.

I used to work as an operating theatre nurse. In the hospital where I trained, if you ended up being scrubbed up for an operation over lunch, Sister could order sandwiches for the staff who couldn't get to the canteen (in those days the canteen was only open set hours, and there wasn't anywhere else to buy food).

In one of the theatres I worked in, there was a doctor who was notorious for stealing people's food. I camp every out one day, after finishing a really long case, to find that this surgeon had not only eaten the sandwiches that had been put aside, labelled for him, but the ones that had been put aside for me too - labelled with my name!

Everyone thought this was shitty behaviour, but the surgeons got away with murder, in those days.

Yes, I am still bitter.

Are you absolutely positively certain that you brought it with you?

I once spent an afternoon raging about lunch thieves, only to get home and realise I'd left it on the dining table at home

I'd bring lunch in a small cool-bag in future, OP, so that you can keep it near you - at desk / in locker.
Mean thing for anyone to do, not to mention dishonest.

Put a post-it on it saying: Warning, I am constipated, so there are loads of laxatives in my home-made pasta salad today.
(Bit "Beware of the Alsatian Dog", but perhaps worth a try?)

If the OP goes home to find her lunch there I wonder if she'll admit it on here?

I love- for the sheer comedy value id admit it on here! But I know it's not there 😂

I had it happen once, I was livid.

Ever since I've used an insulated lunch bag, and keep it on my desk.

Eg www.amazon.co.uk/Aosbos-Recycled-Insulated-Lunch-Cooler/dp/B01M67225N/ref=pd_vtph_201_lp_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=YND0HQ9J1W9TGH9KYA44&tag=mumsnetforum-21

Someone has stolen my insulated cup from the staff room at work. I work in a primary school ffs. It was kept well away from any communal stuff and was very precious to me (Christmas present from my kids). Kept my tea at the exact right temperature, didn't taste of coffee or dishwasher tablets and was nice and big. I am so upset about it.

Lunch thieves and cup thieves are cunts.

Not food but I used to work in a greetings card store and one of the seasonal temps stole a Tommy Hilfiger beany hat out of my bag in the staff room. That was in 2001 but it still pisses me off

It's dreadful to steal someone else's food.

I would put a big notice on it saying:

TO THE PERSON WHO STOLE MY LUNCH YESTERDAY, THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW I HAVE SPAT IN TODAY'S LUNCH, SEVERAL TIMES.

I worked in a large office where this continually happened, peoples lunches would go missing from the fridge.

It turned out to be a woman who was being financially (at the very least) abused by her husband. She was having to walk 4 miles each way to work in all weathers and had no money for lunch, very little at home to make lunch with.

It was awful when it all came out (for reasons unrelated to the food thefts) and people really felt sorry for her. People started bringing in extra food for her after that, so they would make themselves a sandwich and bring one in for her. Took another two bloody years before she LTB

this happens at our workplace too.. and the culprits are usually prison officers lol!

There should be a special punishment for people who steal from work colleagues, especially their food. If a politician proposed bringing back the stocks she'd get my vote. Humiliating the bastards is the best idea. We should have high-tech stocks where someone could be seated for 24 hours, no release in that time. When they needed to pee sensors would automatically turn on a shower for a specified period and a drier would dry them off afterwards. Perhaps it should have a glass shelter so the perp wouldn't be too badly affected by the weather. I'm sure local grocers and supermarkets would be glad to supply dodgy fruit FOC so the public could deliver the proper punishment.

Can't you tell I've thought about this!

Thieves stealing people's food aren't just annoying, they might be undermining someone's health and ability to care for themselves, e.g. someone dependent on drugs that need to be taken with or straight after food. As a disabled person who can't legally walk I've had this problem on numerous occasions. The cool bag solution was absolutely necessary for me, every day when I worked in an office.

Happypoobum, that's a very sad story, but in my experience most lunch stealers are lazy feckers who think the world owes them a free lunch.

I would not add laxatives to a decoy lunch though, because that would be too subtle and the message might not get across. I would instead add to the protein by including a few dead flies,wood lice, beetles ,moths or other small, dead and easily concealed critters . A crunchy surprise that makes the lunch thief heave would be a salutary lesson.

Dreadful. I had a friend who worked night shift at an airport. Most people would take a plated dinner in to microwave as everywhere was either shut or expensive. His dinner went once and he found someone with the brass neck to be sitting there eating it off his plate!

I seriously can't believe people do this in the work place - what if you get spotted? How mortifying

In our big office people steal food too and it makes me sick. I've got complex dietary needs too so can't just pop to mcdonald's like most- I just go hungry.

Once someone stole my fruit salad, ate it all except the strawberries then put the box back in the fridge and inside my bag! FUCKS SAKE

There was a great thread last year, the op had their sushi binned by a coworker who was fridge hogging

Definitely loads of laxatives.

You'll soon see who stole it, they'd leave a trail 💩

Alphabet spaghetti garnish for tomorrow's salad?

Have they also by default stolen the tub you took it in? I would be even more raging if someone stole one of my lovely plastic tubs.

I would put a big notice on it saying:
*
TO THE PERSON WHO STOLE MY LUNCH YESTERDAY, THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW I HAVE SPAT IN TODAY'S LUNCH, SEVERAL TIMES.*

Someone did something similar where my dad worked. When he came to get his lunch someone had scribbled underneath 'SO HAVE I'

it's hugely annoying that someone would stop so low.

I've given up storing stuff in our communal fridge - utter idiots would leave spillages and milk in there for months, so even if you only used it very occasionally you ended up being drafted into a rota to wipe up other peoples spilt soup. I bought a couple of containers that have freezable lids which means I just keep my lunch in my insulated lunch bag at my desk.