Unable to bear the famine and malnutrition in other poor impoverished countries around the world, one Saudi restaurant owner has decided to take matters into his own hands by enforcing levies on all patrons of his restaurant that do not finish all the food that they have ordered. He has signs posted in his restaurant stating that if any customer does not finish their meal, leaving food on their plate, they will be charged an additional fee. The additional monies collected are placed in a box and when sufficient funds are collected it is then distributed to various charity organizations. The restaurant owner hopes that all other restaurants in Saudi Arabia would follow suit.
I personally believe that this is an excellent initiative. I have noticed lots of food wastage here in the Middle East especially during the fasting month. Hotels and restaurants prepare elaborate five course meals and after dinner most of the left over foods are simply thrown away into a garbage bag.Mind you I guess this is also bound to happen simply because the food portions per person are quite large in most Saudi restaurants. Usually when I go to a restaurant I tell the waiter to pack the remainder of the food as a take away and I usually eat it the next day of give it to my domestic worker. It pains me to see food thrown away into the garbage bin when there are people out there who have no idea where their next plate of food is coming from. However, in many countries around the world restaurants as well as citizens of the country are not allowed to distribute left over foods to the poor by law due to health and safety hazards.So what do you think, should all restaurants across the globe follow this Saudi gentleman's example by charging an additional fee to customers who do not finish their meal? Do you think that this will decrease the problem of food wastage in restaurants? Would this initiative curb the 'eyes are bigger than the stomach' syndrome?
I personally believe that this is an excellent initiative. I have noticed lots of food wastage here in the Middle East especially during the fasting month. Hotels and restaurants prepare elaborate five course meals and after dinner most of the left over foods are simply thrown away into a garbage bag.Mind you I guess this is also bound to happen simply because the food portions per person are quite large in most Saudi restaurants. Usually when I go to a restaurant I tell the waiter to pack the remainder of the food as a take away and I usually eat it the next day of give it to my domestic worker. It pains me to see food thrown away into the garbage bin when there are people out there who have no idea where their next plate of food is coming from. However, in many countries around the world restaurants as well as citizens of the country are not allowed to distribute left over foods to the poor by law due to health and safety hazards.So what do you think, should all restaurants across the globe follow this Saudi gentleman's example by charging an additional fee to customers who do not finish their meal? Do you think that this will decrease the problem of food wastage in restaurants? Would this initiative curb the 'eyes are bigger than the stomach' syndrome?
