So much wasted food from mishloach manos

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Forum -> Yom Tov / Holidays -> Purim

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spinkles

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 11:33 am

We have this problem every year--people send perishable food that doesn't get eaten. I hate throwing it out but that's what ends up happening. Why do people send perishable food when they know how hectic Purim is? The shalach manos might end up sitting on your doorstep for hours while you're out delivering your MM...by the time you come back you feel the food could be iffy to eat...so in the garbage it goes. Or, even if you are home to receive it, whatever they sent is a tiny MM-sized portion...what exactly are you supposed to do with it? It's not like a one-person-sized kugel or a tiny portion of sesame noodles or whatever are going to go on my Purim table, there's not enough...I know the thought is that maybe I'm going to eat it while I'm running to megillah and setting up the seudah and dealing with the children etc., and that sounds good in theory but it just never happens. I hate throwing out perfectly good food but that's what ends up happening. Because if I stick MM in the fridge to deal with after Purim I forget they're there. Confused

Does anyone have a good plan for dealing with perishable MM?

mandksima

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 12:14 pm

Perhaps place a big cooler with a few ice packs by the front door with a sign to place perishable mm there please.

amother

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 12:18 pm

On one hand I like perishable food, because its generally more useful than the non-perishable (goes in the cleaning help goody bag) but last year we were out and about, busy, busy, and I felt sooo bad, but I had to throw away food, because I had no idea if we would get sick eating it, as it had been unrefrigerated a long time.

Hashem_Yaazor

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 12:19 pm

Bring them for lunches at work. I prefer that to junky nosh that doesn't perish!

spinkles

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 2:30 pm

The cooler is a very good idea!

Saving the perishable MM for lunches is also good...except that most of the perishable MM are things I don't really eat except on Shabbos (kugels and sugary salads etc.). One year a friend sent a great quinoa salad though and that was wonderful! I ate it for a couple of days.

Happy18

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 2:39 pm

I personally don't eat most of the perishable stuff. I always wonder how long it was sitting out of the fridge and I really don't think its worth getting sick.

Hashem_Yaazor

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 2:58 pm

Granted, I don't usually eat kugel during the middle of the week, but if someone else made it for me....

spring13

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 4:04 pm

I've never gotten sick from eating a kugel that someone brought over for MM, and don't know anyone who has.

I always try to unpack and sort things as soon as possible so I know exactly what's there and can pop things into the fridge if needed. I'd also rather have proper food than pointless junk - but people who are cooking should certainly consider how useful/perishable the item they're preparing is. A kugel, again, isn't going to turn as quickly as, say, tuna salad.

justcallmeima

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 4:12 pm

If only we could send that food to the amother who says she's afraid to eat a second bowl of pasta cause she won't have enough for rent.

33055

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 4:51 pm

I give much of my MM to a large family. What they won't eat I give to a boys yeshivah. The amount of food I get is staggering. I never use the booze and the candy and most of the MM that people work so hard on is given away. I feel terrible but it is better than throwing it out.

ra_mom

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 6:10 pm

I don't get much but kugels I put into the freezer for shabbos or supper side dishes (great to have in the hectic pre pesach days.) challah too
Salads need to get eaten by the next day and are used for lunch at work or the next night's supper.
Cakes and cookies get divided into pans and are properly marked and frozen and we use for shabbos. Otherwise everything gets old and hard real fast.
What else do you get?

That cooler idea is great! Then you can put everything away properly when you get home. Most of our stuff is not delivered when we're not home though.

chocolate moose

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 6:25 pm

Except you don't know how long it sat out before it got to you.

I've heard that food poisoning can take 2 weeks to set in.

bobeli

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 7:15 pm

I will love to make a kosher l pesach one but you can't find the things in the stores now, there is only nosh

spinkles

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 8:18 pm

Quote:

That's a good system. You sound very organized! I have to work on being better with that. I get overwhelmed by the flow of stuff into the house. The food comes in tiny portions and it just seems like too much work to wrap it up and freeze it. Especially when I don't know how long it was out/whether it was made a while ago and is already not at its best/whether it's loaded with margarine/whether my kids are going to fight over who gets that one individual serving of cranberry kugel...you know?

Rutabaga

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 9:13 pm

We keep the homemade stuff and give away the packaged foods to Tomchei Shabbos or the local food pantry. It's just too much junk otherwise. At least the homemade stuff is usually healthier.

ra_mom

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 9:59 pm

chana_f wrote:

Quote:

I really don't get that much so that makes a difference.
Maybe you can do a raid the freezer might and warm all the little kugels and serve on one platter simultaneously? Don't know if that would help the competition?

etky

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 10:19 pm

I have a system in place too otherwise the house would be totally overflowing with food of all sorts.
Every MM is opened immediately. Wrappings and containers that are not worth keeping are immediately tossed. Anything needing refrigeration is checked to see if it is still chilled. If it's OK I stick it into the refrigerator to enjoy later. If not, or if there is any doubt whatsoever, it goes straight into the garbage. I'm ruthless about it but since we really only get MM from within the yishuv, things are generally still quite cold. Baked goods such as small cakes are immediately wrapped, labelled and popped into the freezer as are any types of bread or kugels. As someone else said - in the lead up to Pesach these things really come in handy. We usually get enough small cakes that I don't have to bake for Shabbat until Pesach. Individual cookies and hamantaschen go into a basket and usually get consumed over the next few days (I hate to throw out anything baked). There is another basket for candy, nosh etc. The kids are allowed to eat from that over the Chag (and maybe choose a couple of other things for the next day) but a day or so after Purim anything that remains is given to the chayalim at our local checkpoint.

shalhevet

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 11:50 pm

Reading threads here, a lot of the problems seem to be rooted in the Ultimate Search for the Most Original Theme.

This Quest seems to be accompanied by people adding food because it is triangular/ yellow/ has a name which rhymes with Purim/ resembles a pirate ship/ matches their child's dragon costume etc. without taking into consideration if it is edible/ useful/ anything a family with 15 children would eat.

BeershevaBubby

Sun, Feb 10 2013, 11:51 pm

I've been known to put a sign on the door saying if no one answers, please don't leave ANY MM at the door because of cats/ants/spoilage.

FranticFrummie

Mon, Feb 11 2013, 12:57 am

My community is extremely mixed when it comes to kashrus observance. I only trust food that comes from a small handful of people's kitchens. When you keep CY, PY and all that, things can get very tricky. If I don't feel sure, I throw it out even if it's still good, or I give it to a non Jewish neighbor. DD's BFF is non Jewish, and she's always happy to get treats.

I always do "snack pack" wrapped food with an acceptable heksher, so that people will feel comfortable having it in their home. I'll toss in a fruit that is whole and unpeeled, a cute note, and I'm good to go!

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