Real-life MMD: Waitress takes leftovers to give to a retirement home. Should I report

zagubov wrote: »

This really kind of answers itself, don't you think?

This sounds like the best suggestion I have read here - and it could lead to a lot more food being donated to more than one home, rather than being wasted and thrown away (which seems a crime in itself!).

However, there may be concerns about liability for health and safety should any of the left over food cause serious digestive problems for those taking/redistributing it - after all, if it is at the end of a function, much of it will have sat around on tables at room temperature for some time. Not a good thing for many cooked meats or fish based items. That said, there are probably still many quite safe items that could be given to various local charities and that suggestion to the person paying for them would seem to be a great idea.

With regard to your colleague - why on earth would you even consider ratting her out? Maybe a word to her about ensuring she takes nothing that could upset the residents stomachs would be wise - but to report her??? Do you really dislike her that much?

So maybe you shoul

There are legal issues around your boss donating the food. If anyone was sick as a result of the food (or said they were) your boss could be sued. That's why many organisations have stopped giving their leftovers away.

At the moment, your friends is taking responsibility for 'repurposing' what she (and you) consider to be perfectly good food. All good is coming from it, and your boss can't get into trouble for something s/he doesn't know about.

If you didn't know either, you wouldn't have this dilemma nor be able to get into trouble. This will be harder, of course, if your MSE handle is easily traceable to you....

Elisecas wrote: »

There are legal issues around your boss donating the food. If anyone was sick as a result of the food (or said they were) your boss could be sued. That's why many organisations have stopped giving their leftovers away.

At the moment, your friends is taking responsibility for 'repurposing' what she (and you) consider to be perfectly good food. All good is coming from it, and your boss can't get into trouble for something s/he doesn't know about.

If you didn't know either, you wouldn't have this dilemma nor be able to get into trouble. This will be harder, of course, if your MSE handle is easily traceable to you....

Exactly! But keep in mind, as others have posted, what you might face if it comes out and you're asked directly if you knew about this.

Firstly no you shouldn't report her. Nobody likes a snitch, and whether she is giving the food in good faith to an old people's home, or actually taking it for herself - it's not harming anyone.
I would question what is happening with the food though as an old people's home would have to be inspected and staff there have food hygiene training and would likely not be able to take the food. I guess it depends on what is being taken though - a slice of cake is unlikely to cause the same kind of problems as a prawn sarnie for instance. If she's taking it for herself then it's not for you to get her into trouble - who's to say they wouldn't do this if money got so tight they were struggling to feed their family?
To add to what previous posters have said about giving leftovers to charity - although this seems like a great idea, everywhere has to adhere to strict food safety regulations and often cannot accept food like this to ensure people don't become ill. I've worked for charities for years and have had to refuse food for these reasons, even though it seems so wasteful.
The sandwich chain that was mentioned that donate to homeless charities have kept the sandwiches in chillers right up until they are donated, which is massively different to handing out leftover food that has been out for hours and touched by lots of people.
But as far as the MMD is concerned - leave her to it. If she gets caught by your bosses her job's gone. If she makes someone in the home ill it's between her and the home staff, and again if your bosses find out it's her job gone. Just stay out of it and let her conscience deal with whatever she is doing. At most let her know what the implications may be.