If eat shared treats in work, do you contribute to them?

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I work in the office 3 days a week in a team of 10 people.

And it's fascinating. A couple of people bring in treats such as bags of toffees or jellies or biscuits etc. Not homemade stuff

It's put in a central place & people help themselves.

We have 1 team member who i suspect has food issues but I've also noticed eats all the treats but never shares or contributes anything

I bring in stuff but less frequently as I very rarely eat any of the stuff as I'm losing weight.

The shelf where stuff gets placed is right beside my desk so I can't help but notice.

It doesn't bother me but it i can imagine it would annoy some.

If it bothered others then they would stop bringing things in for the team. I’d guess they enjoy doing nice things for their colleagues

It wouldn’t bother me. If I bring things in then that is my choice, if I don’t want to share then I’d keep it in my bag/locker. And if I am sharing then unless some agreement has been made to all bring things in equally, I don’t expect other people to do the same and I definitely wouldn’t be keeping track. At my work, people usually bring things from holidays or because they fancied a treat themselves and wanted to share, not expecting reciprocity.

In our team we all just bring things in as and when, the only things that noticeable is people who never buy tea/coffee/ milk but always drink it!

It's such an easy way of seeing who's selfish, I think. It can be a bit of an eye-opener, I've found.

One of the reasons I was delighted to stop working in an office.
People used to bring stuff in and not eat it themselves. But they would watch who did saying stuff like "aren't you naughty? I'm being good today" and presumably getting loads of enjoyment out of people putting on weight on their watch.
At least now I can take a square of chocolate out of my drawer (I'm at home) and munch it when I choose and no one thinks I have "food issues".

I don't think it's the same as people who don't contribute to milk/teabags or whatever and use them, I think that's a bit tight.

I always bring and never eat. I don't care except for the workshy wanker who never brings anything, eats lots and then critiques it. "You should try adding..." my fist to your face, twatbag.

I used to bring food to share off my own volition, people might bring something if they were away on holiday abroad or had a client bring them a box of chocolates. We didn't have a cafe or a snacks machine, just a horrid old kitchen. Shops were 5 mins away though.

I never took money or paid money for this unless it was clearly a fundraiser or cakes being sold.

My sis worked in another place where they all chipped in and got food as a group though so it varies.

I will say that some people were irritated that there were foods to tempt them and suggested fruits instead. I find fruit messy, go off quick and oranges for example smelly and leave sticky juices.

It made me happy to see people eat i am probably a feeder and because our work can be stressful and food seemed to put people in a better mood... except those on a diet! If someone only eats and doesn't bring any i would assume they're on a tight budget.

It’s not a wildly treat-y workplace. I do bring but seldom eat anyone else’s — I like baking, but don’t really have a sweet tooth myself. It’s nice to see people enjoying something I made. I’m not at all bothered about reciprocation.

No we really don't. Sometimes if someone has a kids birthday party in the house they bring in the excess stuff to get rid of it but we mainly just buy our own stuff and keep it in our desk drawer.

Perhaps they don't want to eat junk food but can't resist it when it's there, so they don't bring it in in order not to eat more of it?
Its weird that you monitor this.

I bake the odd time so bring cookies or bread etc. in then. Maybe 4 or 5 times a year.

We do have one who eats everything but in fairness to her she brings in a lot of stuff too (mostly eaten by her but she does offer/make it clear anyone can take some). I think she just can’t have something in her eye line and not pick at it.

I don't think you can police it. People who are not in our dept are often invited to share. Some never contribute. If it bothers someone, don't provide it. Usually it's my manager bringing in things to raise spirits. Once someone starts getting uptight about it, the feel good factor is gone.

I never buy.

I'm not generally a 'treats/junk food' person, so the thought never crosses my mind.

But I'll very very occasionally have one single morsel, then wish I hadn't bothered as it's such shite.

I really wish people wouldn't buy it at all and leave it under the noses of colleagues who would prefer not to have the temptation.

If you're only there 3 times a week, maybe they bring stuff on one of the other days.

Same

I often bake and bring to share. Or buy and bring to share. We are also a team of 10 but it’s for anyone who’s in the office. There are a couple of people who never bring anything but always eat - if I minded I wouldn’t bring to share!

I never mind. They could be hard up financially and if I minded I wouldn't bring things to share.

We're all only there 3 days a week. The same 3 days

I knew someone would accuse me of being weird for 'monitoring' but as I've already said, the shelf is right beside my desk..

And once i noticed it became quite fascinating to me.

The person who takes the most never ever shares..they will clear a bowl of roses in an afternoon. However they also have a stash of chocolate in their drawer which they eat without sharing. Before I'm accused of snooping I did not. Another colleague asked one day (when all the treats had been eaten & they'd missed them) if anyone had anything & colleague handed them a fun sized chocolate bar from their drawer

This same colleague constantly comments on what everyone else eats & considers most things unhealthy 😅

As I said - when you work up close with people it's truly fascinating seeeing how different people operate.

I said at the start, I don't eat any of the stuff but never make any comment on it. I'm quietly losing weight (2stones gone now). But every once in a while I'll bring in a bag of something if I think of it. I keep mints on my desk & always offer them if I'm having one...

This isn't really a life or death situation of course & it makes no difference to me what colleague eats at the end of the day but it sort of surprises me that they have so little self awareness..or perhaps they're just more selfish?

We had a treat rota at previous job

Assistant director would be there as soon as it was served Friday mornings. Like, waiting

Was she part of the rota?

No.

That's NOT leading by example.

In our office the treats drawer is mainly supplied with stuff people bring in that they don’t want at home.

Out of date Halloween sweets. Candy canes. Strange candies. Or gifts to share back from holidays - which get treated with appropriate reverence.

Some people bring. Some eat. Everyone seems happy.

I agree with you OP - I wfh home full time now but when I did work in the office there was one who brought in nothing and always ate everyone else’s. I sat next to the snack desk too and he would constantly be up getting something. He moaned if it was something he didn’t like it! Cheeky bugger!