Called “greedy” at work

[HamOnBeth]

Yesterday we had a lunch buffet for a staff member who is going on mat leave. Usual routine is the buffet comes out at lunch time and everyone brings something such as sandwiches, sausage rolls, flapjacks, etc etc … basic party food. We do a little gift and card giving presentation then everyone gets tucked into the buffet. After lunch the food stays there and people just pick at it during the afternoon whilst they work.

So after lunch we got back to work and I walked across and got a few more sandwiches (other people were also going back up). An hour or so later I went back and got a few more bits - certainly not platefuls - just a couple of sandwiches, a couple of (bite size) flapjacks and a muffin.

We leave at 5pm. At 4pm someone said “there is so much food left”. That’s all I heard so I assumed it needed using up so I went back and got a few more bits. At this point someone said “Jesus Christ Beth, are you hungry?!”

I said “well it needs using up doesn’t it?” And laughed trying to keep it light hearted. Someone else then said “there is going to be none left for people to take home! No need to be greedy with it”.

Long story short it was apparently agreed that whatever was left would be taken home by those with kids. I did not hear this. I said I hadn’t heard this so someone said “Well no, you won’t have” and rolled their eyes.

was I really out of order here?? The food was there, lots of it. Nobody else was bothering with it. I’m embarrassed but I still don’t really think I did anything wrong? It’s not like I scoffed it all as soon as it came out.

These kids, are they starving or something?

You should ask tomorrow if you should organise a collection for the parents that are so poor and desperate they need to give their kids 5 hour old dry sandwiches that have been left out uncovered in a warm office 😂

How bizarre! Why assume the people with kids get it, too… I have kids, but I’m not quite sure on the logic of why I or my children would be more deserving of food than any of my other colleagues…

I don’t think you were greedy, and it’s definitely not acceptable to call work colleagues greedy.

In this situation, a greedy person would be the one who takes far more than their fair share before others have had the opportunity to have anything. Getting food once everyone has had plenty of time to eat and the food has been left out would strike me as finishing food off rather than binning it.

Who decides that families with kids would get leftovers? Surely everyone takes their own leftovers (not least to ensure you all get your own containers back!)

TBH I think you were being a bit over zealous! Once or twice to be up for more OK 3 or 4 times a little bit much really.I also think with COL as it is, people with kids should come first .It's hard to feed a family these days.

You did nothing wrong, your colleague was mean and spiteful to call you out like that. She is the weird and inappropriate one, not you.

Oh FFS. The teeny tinies and fat phobes are definitely out in force here. People making up that OP had platefuls of food each time when she specified they weren’t full.

I don’t know about anyone else but when you’re having buffet style food, I think it’s quite common to have a few bits here and there, rather than a big plateful in one go and the going back for more is normal for a lot of people. And even if OP had had lots of food each time, so what? She might be pre menstrual with a bigger appetite than normal, she might have done lots of exercise that made her hungry. She might not have done anything that meant her appetite was different and just fancied what she had at that particular time, which was one day out of her whole life. And people are making assumptions about her based on that.

No, you weren’t greedy, OP. I agree with keeping an eye on it all in case you get any further comments. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed what you had!!

I would call that greedy yes.

OP won’t be back. Rude to start a post and not bother replying.

Im one to go up a few times because I take very little each time. Greedy is the one that piles the plate with as much food as they can fit on it. Half the time the plate pilers don't eat it all.
Buffet food (assuming it's cold) should only be left out a max of 4 hours - considering this hasn't even been produced by caterers, and is unlikely to have been transported in the morning with temperature controlled packaging, the safest course was for it to be consumed quickly.

I know. My post might not have been entirely serious.

I mean it’s a bit excessive to go again x 3

Same here
I don't like loads of food piled up or hot/cold food touching so I would rather make 2 trips or more
If people think I am greedy I don't much care

I know..but it was funny and I agree. 😂

I'd be hungry again by 4pm too. The greedy ones were those guarding the food so they could take it home.

Your coworkers are ever so ready to make snarky rude comments, especially when they want what you are snacking on for themselves.

Absolutely this. I would have acted dumb and made their dumbass have to explain how rude they actually are.

For all they know, you might go home to very little food. Or could have previous issues with food.

I would absolutely log this somewhere in case any more snide comments are made.

I always go up for more than 1 plate at a buffet because let's face it buffet food just hits differently. Next time make sure you sachay your way there and back makibg it clear that you are not affected by mean girl comments.

I have kids and probably wouldn’t be feeding them curdled sandwiches that had been left out all day, but that’s just me.

I don’t concern myself with other people’s eating habits either, if you’re hungry go up 10 times for all I care. It doesn’t seem like you actually ate that much, you just went up several times. I would have definitely eaten more than you, but I’d have got it in two rounds, probably would have gone for a third out of spite if someone called me greedy.

How big were the sandwiches? If they were those dainty little triangles then fine, if they were NY deli doorstops then your colleagues have a point!

I would not have gone up four times, especially not if nobody else was.

They sound very rude. Everyone should be consulted on a decision rather than you being informed later what has been decided. Even if you were stuffing your face with every single thing available it was for the work colleagues to begin with.

We used to do a similar thing at my old workplace and what was left over was offered to people to take home. If they wanted to. If people didn't want Anything themselves ,there was usually a suggestion perhaps we could take some for children /partners but this was usually things that were in a wrapper rather than having been out on the side for hours.

I wouldn’t think twice about it because why would I care and I wouldn’t be counting how many times you went back. It’s not like you were taking a huge uncut cake back with you. Those sandwiches were probably going to start curling anyway.

I hate people making snidey little digs while smiling or laughing.

I have kids but I don’t see why parents should take precedence over non parents.

This^ Also , at work, I'd never eat leftovers just to stop food from going to waste. I'm not the food bin. I think in workplaces , colleagues are always judging you, so even if I was hungry I wouldn't be going several times to get more food. You're just giving people something to bitch about. But I think those people who are taking food home for their children are equally greedy.

YANBU OP, but I would have said - okay, I’ll leave it- and then put it back. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have taken it.

God, how bloody rude of that person.
Even if I'd thought someone was being 'greedy', I wouldn't say so, as the connotations of that word are just horrid.