Need advice with a moral issue

[Atrea]

Sounds like your first instinct is to automatically assume he's doing something wrong; you probably haven't ever volunteered for something like a soup kitchen in your life, so let me enlighten you; they feed the volunteers too. They feed anyone. They don't ask whether or not you REALLY need it - your presence there is enough. Now, granted - the volunteers take what is left over afterwards, but depending on the schedule - sometimes daily, sometimes 2-3 times a week, and sometimes only once a week - there's a long period in between times when the facility is open, so anything NOT taken that day stands a good chance of going bad.

Couple that with the fact that while the gluten free product IS available, it is obviously not super popular, so is generally part of the "left over" portion at the end of the day.


Truthfully though, I think you SHOULD tell your employer. And you should tell the soup kitchen as well. Here's why.

You have a problem. You don't think you do - you think you're acting out of ethical concern here - but you do. You're a busybody. Not only that but you have very clear trust issues, coupled with a smug sense of self superiority.

The only way you'll learn your lesson is if you embarrass the fuck out of yourself with your behaviour, and learn that it's not only socially unacceptable, but that your tendency to jump to silly (and, frankly, ignorant) conclusions about other people SHOULD get you into trouble.

So do it. Make an ass of yourself, and PLEASE learn the lesson - that you shouldn't worry about what other people do on their own time, because you have no way of knowing the entire story.

[Celista]

Food banks/kitchens get a lot and I mean a LOT of bread. Most get far more than they actually need, quality protein is probably the hardest thing for food kitchens to get ahold of.

Some food kitchens get so much food as donations that they can't use it in a timely manner, especially when it comes to food items that can't be frozen/dehydrated and perish quickly, like bread.

I wouldn't worry about it.

[Vanyali]

As far as problems go, I'm so glad that its a case of having an abundance to help people instead of the people who need it not having enough. Thats pretty awesome. I can't help but be curious--what happens to the rest of it? Do you hand it out to local churches or other foodbanks that are farther away? Not nitpicking or anything, just kinda curious how stuff like that works.

Generally we set it out for the Free Clinic that's in the church Wens. night - they take whatever they want, then it gets tossed after that.

We try not to put things out that can be saved, but with bread especially you just can't.. it has a fairly short lifetime, and saving it makes it even shorter for people that need to eat it.

And yeah, we need more families I think there's ~50 right now for the two handout days and it's not enough for all the stuff we get in xD

[Kasterix]

A guy volunteers at soup kitchen. This guy takes bread from said soup kitchen at times.

But THEN he does something stupid... He trusts a potential future co-worker on a whim with such information, it's strange and almost like he has nothing to hide.

Little does he know how completely bent out of shape said co-worker is going to be about it without even knowing full details of the 'theft' in question, or that they'll immediately get up on their moral high horse as if they're the epitome of all that is good and righteous in the world.

Yeah, I'm not convinced the supposed bread thief is the problem here.

[Fencers]

Fairly trivial matter. I do agree the guy shouldn't be taking from the needy though.

However, I am unsure if your employer would need to know about the bread. Unless this guy was stealing from your employer or so.easy great bread bandit: any wrong doing he is responsible for would be inice his crim record. Which you said he is obliged to turn over anyway.

Your values are not applicable to everyone. The guy is not beholden to you either for his wrong doing outside of work.

[Kyr]

So I'm working with an office where we have to dispatch handymen to fix stuff for insured persons and we have this new guy who I have to train.

We are just talking about this and that and he asked if he could bring me something from the baker shop while he was getting himself something, and I was saying, sorry I can only eat gluten free stuff.

So he answers "I know gluten-free. I work as a volunteer in a soup kitchen for the homeless and one of my co-volunteers is taking the donated gluten-free bread home for herself every week, I take some bread home from there my self every week."

Personally I am disgusted. I find stealing from the needy despicable, more so as I am a celiac and I know how abhorrently expensive gluten free bread is, I am if a person who would be able to bake their own bread at home would steal it from somebody who isn't able to do this.

Here's the question: Is this a private matter? Should my superior know about this? The guy is there as a temp but if he gets a job he is required to hand in criminal record certificate. Additional information: he's in his late 40's.

I think you are just misinterpreting what he is saying. I don't think the volunteers are taking stuff away from the homeless, they are just taking home the leftovers that would be thrown away. I don't think most homeless people give a shit about gluten-free crap for the most part and so there is probably alot leftover that would be thrown out otherwise.

[hrugner]

I'd leave it alone. Nobody likes the gluten free stuff and, around here anyway, it gets redonated to pig farms.

Also, I recommend working for some other place that takes and distributes donations. It's a pretty sloppy sort of business since nobody involved is making much money off the donations and are just hoping to see the product used.

[Drungan]

Same as others say ... foodbanks gets a lot of bread and most places whats not handed out the people working there can take hone or it goes to animal food ... this is very likely not a matter at all.

Should give the dude some credit for using his time there AND being polite enough to ask you if you wanted something from the bakery also ...

[Baium]

I am pretty good when it comes to morals.

I can tell you that you should under no circumstances kick him in the head. Violence doesn't solve problems.


And you have to be very careful. If he says "only god can judge me" or has a "only god can judge me" tattoo/t-shirt then there is literally nothing you can do.

Read that first line, and couldn't help but read the rest in Donald Trump's Voice.

On topic:

Like others are saying, two significant factors to consider. 1) its most likely that the bread is on it way out and being taken because there is more than is needed. 2) Net good, if you volunteer for a few hours and take a loaf of break every once in a while. you're still doing pretty good.

[vindicatorx]

Here's the question: Is this a private matter? Should my superior know about this? The guy is there as a temp but if he gets a job he is required to hand in criminal record certificate. Additional information: he's in his late 40's.

It' not work related so if you tell your boss he will probably think you are a nosy asshole, I know I would. You aren't the gluten free bread police so you have no moral obligation to say anything to anyone. The fact you thought about mentioning something to your employer about a non work related incident your co-worker who was trying to be nice to you mentioned to you shows exactly what kind of a horrid person you are in the first place.

[Celista]

Someone went out on a limb to do a courtesy for you and in return you think you should report him to your boss for what you apparently consider stealing from homeless people? Way to jump to conclusions. Maybe he's as fucking homeless as the people he volunteers for.

I think this is a good point. The guy is a temp and just got the job; he might have been volunteering there because he actually needed the food (even if he did not outright say so).

[Sam the Wiser]

OP trying to send someone to prison over bread, shit never change MMO-C.

[Nihilist74]

He might not be stealing it. They might give it away to the volunteers before it goes bad.

[AeneasBK]

Did I read it wrong or is it not even your temp coworker that is doing the stealing but one of *his* coworkers...

[Tijuana]

So I'm working with an office where we have to dispatch handymen to fix stuff for insured persons and we have this new guy who I have to train.

We are just talking about this and that and he asked if he could bring me something from the baker shop while he was getting himself something, and I was saying, sorry I can only eat gluten free stuff.

So he answers "I know gluten-free. I work as a volunteer in a soup kitchen for the homeless and one of my co-volunteers is taking the donated gluten-free bread home for herself every week, I take some bread home from there my self every week."

Personally I am disgusted. I find stealing from the needy despicable, more so as I am a celiac and I know how abhorrently expensive gluten free bread is, I am if a person who would be able to bake their own bread at home would steal it from somebody who isn't able to do this.

Here's the question: Is this a private matter? Should my superior know about this? The guy is there as a temp but if he gets a job he is required to hand in criminal record certificate. Additional information: he's in his late 40's.

Who steals bread, honestly? If they can afford to give away the time, why steal the bread?

[Schmittay]

Lived in "community" housing for 2.5 years and we were the last stop for the soup van, every night would end up with one or two huge bin bags of bread that we had to throw because there was just so much.

[muto]

OP = jumping to conclusions.

Like half the people in here already said. Maybe it's leftovers/old bread that was just going to get pitched in the dumpster.

[volescue]

Perhaps you are looking too much into it? A lot of countries have strict rules about food, even when it comes to giving it away for free.

I know a lot of food places in America can't give away food even if they wanted to because it isn't fresh. Panera Bread regularly has to throw away their bread because after a day or so it isn't allowed to be donated, even though it is perfectly fine for human consumption still.

[hrugner]

OP trying to send someone to prison over bread, shit never change MMO-C.

[Deleted]

Wait you can't get a job if you have criminal record or what? I would feel insulted if my company ever requests that and it is american btw but on europe.