Would You Eat It?
This past weekend I worked at Roadrunner Food Bank helping sort contributions so they could box up and send back out. Apparently, some people were cleaning out their pantries - old mango chutney, really old marinated asparagus, ancient pasta sauce, open bags of broken cookies…even some dog bones! It was astonishing what people had dumped as “donations.”
As I was dumping stuff in the garbage, I wondered: A. Would those pantry cleaners directly hand this crap to other people, expecting them to be grateful? B. Would they eat the stuff themselves? (Obviously not.)
And so it often goes in business. Somehow, people in companies (from the CEO to the receptionist) manage to do a mental disconnect between how they would like and expect to be treated…and how they treat their customers.
If you wouldn’t eat it - don’t dish it out.
I have a little rule - I only donate food that I would eat myself.
(P.S. If you’re in the Albuquerque area, it’s not too late to donate…and, remember, people eat all year long, not just during the holiday season. Roadrunner can always use pasta sauce, peanut butter and other shelf-stable foods. So, next time Smith’s runs one of those case sales or “10 for $10″ - stock up and drop off at Roadrunner, 2645 Baylor Drive SE. It’s out by the airport. I’ll be swinging by Smith’s today - maybe I’ll see you there!)
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