In a thread posted on Reddit, one user shares how workplace lunch meetings are proving beneficial to their belly and his wallet.
The Redditor shared a tip post titled "Fringe benefits at work (food)." In the thread, the poster details a hack most of us may have overlooked in our workplaces.
"This is pretty unique but I started working at a new company and I noticed how many meetings are scheduled at lunch. I was shocked when I was in a few of these and they just throw the extra [food] away around 3 pm," the Redditor writes.
They now routinely check if big conference rooms are booked around lunch times and if they are, "I mosey on down to that floor's kitchen area around 1:30."
The poster says it's usually either boxed lunches or buffet style "so I clean out my Tupperware after I eat and bring it with me. Either snag one or fill up my Tupperware for dinner."
The hack has proved incredibly profitable for the user. "I've averaged like 2 delicious meals a week for dinner by doing this," they write, saying it's usually enough to split with their wife. "Love to see it."
Grabbing leftovers at work has the same benefit as eating them at home or taking them home from a restaurant — it keeps food out of landfills and can save you money.
According to Feeding America, nearly 120 billion pounds of food is wasted in the U.S. every year. "That equates to 130 billion meals and more than $408 billion in food thrown away each year. Shockingly, nearly 40% of all food in America is wasted," the organization says.
The Reddit thread comment section was full of similar stories. "My company practically begged us to take home as much leftover food as we could," one user writes.
"I love this!" writes another Redditor, adding, "can't tell you the heartbreak of seeing so much food wasted during meetings and conferences at the companies and schools where I've worked. We used to go around to other departments and offer them food, or at schools I would tell any student I could find to take as much as they want!"
Another user had a great tip for menu planning. "Make friends with the facilities workers or whoever does the food planning/ordering," they write. "They stop by our cubes every morning to let us know what's on the menu so we know whether we should eat our packed lunch or not."
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