Yes. If they have a deli, chances are they make something to use up the end pieces of their deli meats. No reason that ham couldn't be used the same way. Also, that wastefullness has to seriously screw up their inventory and cost analysis...which often means if they think the items isn't making adequate profit, the price is raised or they drop the proudct from their offerings.

Yes, tell management. They count their pennies, and such waste will get their attention.

Last week I had an order cut the same way. When I stopped the clerk, he lifted the excess amount and hit the print button, then added the excess back to my order. I got double the amount I wanted, but only paid for what I had ordered. Makes a lot more sense than throwing it away!

In my deli they load those pieces ,as well as the ends, into a pan they use to make their deli sandwiches, wraps and spreads.

And I got some inedible ends in my deli order the other day, and I had to pay for them - a very young person was the only employee in the deli. I'll check next time to be sure I'm not paying for something I can't eat.

Sure I would say something, probably that I would take the extra and pay for it too. In the end we would eat it.

My big pet peeve is the "family style" dinners with platters of food that get taken back to be trashed. When I ask for a doggie back, they tell me that they don't do that. WTF? They throw it out. Heck, I didn't ask you to bring out more and I have paid for it, so why trash it?

Yeah, I'd have said something also. Wasted food is not a good thing.

I have a problem in restaurants because the serving sizes are always enough to serve two &, usually, four. So, I ask for a smaller portion not asking for a discount just not wanting to waste the food. Many meals just don't travel well for doggie bags. Rarely, do I receive a smaller portion & I end up leaving half, or more, on my plate that ends up in the trash. So wasteful.

I try to only order things that I know will be OK to take home but, sometimes, we're traveling & that's just not possible.

There's several ways a deli could use those bits, ends, & overages that there's no good excuse for waste.

/tricia

I've never seen them throw that extra in the trash. But I do admit, I'm not sure I would have noticed.

Depending on the store/clerk, they might just throw it back on my pile after figuring the charge, as beachlily mentioned. If they ask me about the overage, I just say, ok, leave it on and I'll take it (and pay for it). Sometimes they don't bother to ask and just expect me to take it and pay for it. OH! and sometimes, they'll ask me if I'd like to just eat it right then and there, and hand it over to me.

All of that is ok with me because it's usually something like one or two extra slices, no biggie.

If I saw them throw it in the trash, I'd definitely go to the manager and ask what their policy is. I agree that it's a huge waste of food. And a waste of income for the store -- which inevitably gets passed on to the customer.

As for restaurant food, I seldom go to a restaurant nowadays that DOESN'T give you too much food. Like Tricia said, I try to order things that are going to work well for leftovers. I can usually make at least one more meal, sometimes two, out of any restaurant meal. But I've noticed that most people don't do that.

We waste a LOT of food in this country. It's too bad.

While I'm on this toot about restaurant waste...

When I'm confronted with a plate so heaped with food that there's virtually no negative space in sight I almost immediately lose my appetite. I had that happen in a BBQ place...huge pile of shredded pork, mounds of fries, about 2 cups of slaw, etc. I ate what I could & stopped. The waiter came over, pointed to my plate, & asked, "Is there something WRONG with your meal?" "Yes!", says I. "I am one woman. There's enough food on this plate to easily serve a family of four. Looking at it makes me feel like a pig at a trough!" He looked at me like I had two heads. (sigh)

Is it any wonder obesity is a national problem? Honestly, there must have been the equivilent of 3 full Russett potatoes in fries on that plate. I ate half a dozen. You couldn't even tell I'd eaten anything.

Can't remember but, probably, paid around $12.95 for that meal. Give me 1/4 of the food & reduce the price to $9.95. In this case, 1/4 would still have been too much!

Through complaining now & sorry for the off-topic rant. And drats...the temperature on my task bar has just started flashing red! Oh swell. We've got yet another coastal flood warning for tonight. I am sooooo over this storm stuff....

/tricia

I think the problem at restaurants is that we (meaning we as a society) have come to EXPECT huge amounts to be served. If they gave you what would be a normal serving, we'd feel ripped off!

Your suggestion to serve 1/4 of the food while still charging 3/4 of the price just wouldn't sit well with most people. But the restaurant has to make enough of a profit off each customer to stay in business right? They can't serve 1/4 and charge 1/4. It just wouldn't work.

Not to say I don't agree with you -- just that I'm guessing that a restaurant that reduced the food portions greatly while reducing the cost minimally would probably be out of business in a short time. It's the mindset we're in, and I'm not sure how it can change.

And I have to admit, I'm in the same mindset! I do expect to be served too much food at restaurants. I do expect to take home the leftovers. And I do plan what I order accordingly. It's what I'm used to.

I always have leftovers. Sometimes DH and I will split a meal, and more often I bring what's left home, and eat three more times. Although I like to cook, I don't always have the energy to do it, so I get a thrill when I ''find'' something in my fridge!

I'm a little like Tricia, in that I don't want to look at a huge pile of food. I've started bringing a reusable lunchbag with me to the restaurant, so I can pack what I'm not going to eat right away, and get it off my plate. In that, I pack a Lock and Lock, and include a couple of ziplocks, so I can get some ice and keep it cold until I get where I'm going.

Re: enormous amounts of food in restaurants. I have a few people I eat out with often. We are inclined to choose something to share. It is always a great plenty split two ways. I used to think I was being cheap but I no longer care. Too much food is too much. Alice and I were dining out last week and I don't recall what the waitress said, but it prompted me to say, "I can only do so much, I'm only 5 feet tall."

I mentioned the 1/4 amount of food for $9.95 because I'm starting to see TV commercials for places like Applebee's advertising smaller portioned meals starting at that price point. I don't know if it's recession driven or the obsesity issue that's getting more press recently but I'm glad to see it happening.

Sometimes, we just order an appetizer & call it good.

My "issue" with seeing these overstuffed plates of food in front of me is one of several reasons we sold the A&W those many years ago. I was becoming anorexic. After seeing all that food go out of the kitchen all day I couldn't eat a bite. I enjoy Guy's "Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives" except when they show those huge pots of stuff being made...makes me gag. OMG, just last week I watched an episode where somebody was making turkey dinner. He made this enormous pot of stuffing/dressing. It was almost 'the big one' for me! rofl Funny how 1/2 cup of stuffing is delicious but 5 gallons looks like...well, never mind what it looks like. You get the idea.

/tricia

On the original topic, in my small town deli they would just add the overage back to the pan they keep for deli sandwiches and whatever else they do with it, they never throw it away. If I ask for 1/4 pound and they slice a bit over, they ask if I want it and I'll always take it, the difference between 4 ounces and 5 or 6 ounces is pretty negligible.

Now, for restaurants. Many have "senior" menus which give you a smaller portion for a smaller price. However, they usually start at age 60 or 65. I can never eat an entire meal served at a restaurant.

I most often order an appetizer and a drink, maybe a cup of soup on the side if I'm really hungry. If I'm out with Elery we often split a meal, unless we both really want something specific and something different than the other. Even sandwiches are huge any more, so many times he'll order a sandwich, I'll order a salad or a bowl of soup and we'll split them both.

Anything that goes home with me either becomes a meal for Cooper or my lunch at work the next day.

Annie

I have a different take on the restaurant experience. First off, when different sizes are offered, the price difference usually doesn't warrant getting the smaller meal unless you know you're not going to finish it and/or you know you won't use the doggy bag.

Examples (using chains just because their menues and prices are available online):

Applebees main course salads - Difference between a full salad and a half salad is just one dollar. Now I suspect the main difference in portion is maily lettuce but still, why go for the half? I know I won't doggy bag a salad, but what's a dollar?

Outback Filet Mignon - $18.95 for 6oz, $22.50 for 9oz. Translates to 19% more money for 50% more meat. And yes, I'll use that extra meat if I don't eat it now.

Now I'll admit if I went out to eat more, a few bucks difference in price would add up over time, and I might even appreciate the forced portion control. But as it is, going out is a relatively rare indulgence so the last thing I want to do is have room for dessert, unless something on the dessert menu looks so good that I CHOOSE to leave room.

I'll bet the guy has to toss it by state law. Same with stuff that comes back on a plate in a restaurant. That's one reason profit margins in restaurants are pretty low.

And going to the manager seems like a waste of his time and yours.

I've never seen the excess tossed, either. They always ask if I want it; if I don't they put it back on the pile.

I was a state licensed food sanitarian. It is not a law in my state to throw away the excess. After all, the same clerk probably sliced the meat on the slicer and made the pile in the first place. And he'd better be wearing fresh gloves for every transaction and putting your meat in or on a fresh paper or container, so no contamination that way. Seems like either an untrained clerk or a ridiculous store policy to me.