Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Replate

Just a little while back I was sitting outside and saw a homeless guy digging the nearby trash bins for leftover food. This made me immensely sad and guilty for being fortunate enough to have all the food I need to survive, and more.

Thanks to my mom, I have always been against wasting food. She taught me to always take only the amount of food I really can eat. I sincerely follow that rule and try to make people around me do that too. But there are times when we are forced to buy in big portions and then have no other options except throwing away the leftovers in the trash. Today's incidence made me think if we could throw those leftovers in a way that the poor homeless people can get them without digging through the rotten trash cans.

I started looking up on the net. Some people suggested offering the food to a homeless person directly. This did not seem very practical to me. Firstly, I will probably not have enough time or motivation to look for a needy person at the time I have that extra food. And even if I do, the person I offer it to might feel insulted.

After some more searching I found this very simple yet very nice idea called 'Replate'. To replate is to place the unwanted leftovers on top of the trash can that has a lid or next to it if doesn't have a lid. It will be nicer if it can be kept wrapped in a paper bag, say the bag in which the food came in originally.

There can be many critics and concerns about this practice. But until we find a better solution, this seems like a doable idea to me. If others agree with me, then from now on please remember to replate instead of throwing away those half eaten lunches.

5 comments:

Pavi!!!! said...

Woooow! fabulous idea!!!

i am soooooooo against wasting food n at times end up over-eating just not to waste!! Not that me over-eating fills the stomach of the hungry in any manner!!

Thanks P!

Arunima said...

I do it when I leave my trash bag outside and in my case, it is thanks to my dad, I don't waste food.

Pooja said...

This is such a good idea, and noble not to mention. I hate wasting food. Especially leftovers. I tend to give them away to the maids instead of throwing it in the trash. But I try very hard to get the cook to make only as much as we will eat, no point cooking a lot and then wasting it. I'd love to give all the leftovers to the people on the street who really need it, but never knew how to make it happen. I always tend to pack doggie bags and give it out to those who need it. I will definitely try repleting!

Amandeep Singh said...

Can be done!
But there has to a better way.

P said...

@ Pavi, Arunima and Poo: Glad to hear you all agree. Keep doing the nice things you do.

@Standbymind: There definitely are other ways such as donating to food bank. This is just one very small step that can be done without any extra effort. And I believe every small step in the right direction counts.