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AIBU?

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Original poster

Bags of food waste at well known bakers in Romford

79 replies

Malibuismysecrethome · 21/01/2022 18:18

I’m upset to see the bags of food wasted by the Romford branch of a High Street food outlet and their spokesperson saying is goes for renewable energy. A former worker has exposed the practice. Why can’t it be put out at 3.30 pm for school kids and people in food poverty. The binned items include sandwiches.

OP posts:
Quincythequince · 21/01/2022 20:14

@Malibuismysecrethome

QuincytgeQuince very few people need a 3.00 pm sausage roll. If you are a teenager with no food at home and no evening meal it would be wonderful to have one!
You are spectacularly missing the point!!!

How does this solve anything at all?!

If you were a business: would you want hoards or teenagers coming for free food, and that’s despite the legislative restrictions in place anyway!

Good god!

Has anybody here ever run a business, of any kid at all!

The ignorance is astounding!!

Sparklingbrook · 21/01/2022 20:15

Yes, just because people think that free food being handed out by Gregg’s is not a good idea, they must enjoy seeing other people go hungry!

That's not the case. Hmm You couldn't guarantee that the hypothetical free food would be handed out to the people most in need. How would they differentiate between the children that are not getting dinner and ones that are just plain greedy?

sadpapercourtesan · 21/01/2022 20:16

Shocking that there are people who would actively prefer food be wasted than given away for nothing.

I'm not referring to the comments about logistical difficulties, Natasha's Law etc - those are valid complications of course.

But the attitude that it's just wrong to feed people for nothing, that it's actually better to waste the food - unconscionable.

Sparklingbrook · 21/01/2022 20:17

Has anybody here ever run a business, of any kind at all!

Apparently it is all very straightforward with no red tape whatsoever., you can just make it up as you go along.

UnitedRoad · 21/01/2022 20:17

Olio are really good. They have something called Food Angels and they pick up all the unsold reduced food from Tesco and (I think) coop and list it individually, and if you saw something you wanted you’d go to the food angels house. On my local one they’re looking for food angels to cover specific times at our two local Tesco expresses. It seems to be mostly sandwiches, cakes, fruit and vegetables etc. Lots of choice, and it doesn’t get snapped up quickly. As you’re choosing things individually I guess it’s up to you to cater for your own allergies, not like getting a great boxful where you don’t get to choose.

Greggs who don’t have a charity should sign up some food angels.

There’s also a non food part of Olio when you can list your unwanted non food (I just rehomed some books and jigsaws), and there’s also a borrow section - some people have listed their dvd libraries and others are looking for a ladder or carpet cleaner.

I’m very new to Olio, and think it’s great. Probably everyone else has been using it for years 😂

PlanktonsComputerWife · 21/01/2022 20:17

I'm so sorry, completely misread your post. Name change time.🙈

Sparklingbrook · 21/01/2022 20:19

The supermarkets in these parts tend to have an agreement with Fareshare to donate any food to after closing, we don't have a Greggs here though.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 21/01/2022 20:20

Why the hell does a town the size of Romford need 3 Greggs ?

Not that far apart either ( Market / South Street/ Western)

No wonder there;s so much waste !
Apart from all the fast food ( 3 Mc Donalds /KFC/2 Subway) there's the Food-To-Go in supermarkets .

NerrSnerr · 21/01/2022 20:20

Our local Greggs does Too good to go. They sell out in a minute but it's a jackpot when you get them. We usually get about £15 worth of food for £2.50 (and if it's too much for us to eat in the next day or so I share it with some local friends).

MrsGinnyM · 21/01/2022 20:23

I remember reading about a supermarket spoiling all the food it put out in bins, so that the hungry and homeless couldn't take it out to eat. Angry

Original poster
Malibuismysecrethome · 21/01/2022 20:24

Quincy actually your comments are astounding.
I actually believe you can be ethical and be a good businessman or woman and run a successful company. Who’s your idol Gordon Gekko?
How is it right to bin 6 black sacks of food nearly every day. Yes I do understand business, do you?
The publicity of donating food to the homeless would be far beneficial to the company.

OP posts:
Sparklingbrook · 21/01/2022 20:29

Apparently the worker on her TikTok video, wrote: "watch me get fired", to which her managers said was "petty" and that she knew what she was doing.

I'm not sure sticking it on TikTok as a first port of call was particularly wise, along with saying what she did.

Georgeskitchen · 21/01/2022 20:30

Before covid the left over food was donated every day to homeless charities. Probably more needs to be done to make sure this is properly instigated again. As for allergies, all the packed food ie: sandwiches, cakes, biscuits etc, have allergen labels attached

Sparklingbrook · 21/01/2022 20:31

As for allergies, all the packed food ie: sandwiches, cakes, biscuits etc, have allergen labels attached

Yes, but Greggs also sells a lot of unpackaged food which would be problematic.

RamblingFar · 21/01/2022 20:33

Depending on area and business type, it's actually quite hard to get rid of free food. The food banks don't often take perishable food, the community fridge requires it to be dropped off with them, people don't always like to accept food from strangers handing it out in public... My business has less food waste, but they stuff that fails to be given away for free here ends up getting composted.

Quincythequince · 21/01/2022 20:35

@Malibuismysecrethome

Quincy actually your comments are astounding. I actually believe you can be ethical and be a good businessman or woman and run a successful company. Who’s your idol Gordon Gekko? How is it right to bin 6 black sacks of food nearly every day. Yes I do understand business, do you? The publicity of donating food to the homeless would be far beneficial to the company.
It is poor business practice to have this much excess food! The solution is to manage your supply chain better.

Love the personal insults because you have no logic about this!

I do vast amounts for charity, and work with disadvantaged teens!

Are homeless charities in London also in the wrong doe telling people not to give money away to people too?

Understand a bit more about that which you virtuously prosyletise.

Not giving your free food away doesn’t make you a bad person! And donating free food virtue signals to it people like you, whilst solving nothing material, but disguising a bigger problem.

Socialcarenope · 21/01/2022 20:40

They should at least put it on too good to go. Or olio!

Sparklingbrook · 21/01/2022 20:41

If there are genuinely 6 bin liners a day of food thrown away then there's definitely an issue with what is being delivered in and prepared, which should be easily solved by the manager of the shop.

narcdad · 21/01/2022 20:46

I just don't see this food poverty at all, in fact I think the food being so readily available, deliverable, cheap then unless it's parental / carer abuse I'm not sure how so many seem to be in food poverty.

Food banks, locally charitable organisations are rife.

Pinkmagic1 · 21/01/2022 20:54

My ds was in a garage run by a supermarket chain one evening and saw the shop assistant about to throw away numerous, large crates of sandwhichs and salads. He asked if he could take them and the women agreed as she said she was utterly depressed at having to throw away so much food every day.
Ds and his mates took them into our city centre that same night and handed them out to the homeless, then took the rest to the night shelter.
The amount of food waste is sickening, considering how many people are having to choose between eating and heating their homes.

Original poster
Malibuismysecrethome · 21/01/2022 20:54

Quincy you are the one virtue signalling by mentioning your charitable endeavours and work with disadvantaged teens.

I won’t be engaging with you anymore, you do you.

OP posts:
Quincythequince · 21/01/2022 20:57

@Malibuismysecrethome

Quincy you are the one virtue signalling by mentioning your charitable endeavours and work with disadvantaged teens. I won’t be engaging with you anymore, you do you.
You insulted me. I responded accordingly! Deal with it.
Nsky · 21/01/2022 20:58

Look I used to work for them, food is given to charity if they collect at pre closing shop times.
Too good to go is in place certain shops, it’s more complex than this appears.
Food was dispose of carefully.

MsFenellaFielding · 21/01/2022 21:04

I worked for a large coffee chain a few years back.

We were instructed, and watched doing it, to poke holes in packaging and mix with the rubbish. Then you could bin the pointlessly spoilt food.

Sparklingbrook · 21/01/2022 21:20

@Malibuismysecrethome

Quincy you are the one virtue signalling by mentioning your charitable endeavours and work with disadvantaged teens. I won’t be engaging with you anymore, you do you.
Oh it's one of those threads. Hmm