Don’t Waste Food

I would like to share an incident that happened to me in 1997, when I was just starting out in my career. I was working as the Branch Manager for a well-known organisation in Tirupur. We used to buy breakfast from the nearest outlet because we used to stay in Tirupur and work, and after breakfast, I sat in my cabin, occupied with my daily routine.

A young door-to-door marketing lad wearing a tie entered our office for his daily sales. Since we were very busy, he tried to walk away quietly. After a few seconds, he stepped back inside our office and called me "Sir." I asked him what he wanted. He quietly pointed at a table and asked for the packet of gravy lying on the table and asked me, "Sir, shall I take it?" I was shocked and, surprisingly, asked him why? Because we throw it in the dust bin every day.

He replied, "Sir, Every day, I get up early and walk 10 kilometres for a living. My mother prepares and packs me raw rice every day, and after sales, I usually buy gravy from outside. If it’s of no use to you and you are going to throw it away, I can use it for my lunch and save Rupees. 20 for today.

Those words still stand fresh in my mind, and I’m still trying to perfect myself so I don't waste food. Even though I fail so many times, I know I’m much better than before. I strongly believe that Lad would be a big entrepreneur today.

Please don’t waste food. There will be a lot of unseen, efficient guys struggling to get a packet of food.