SUSPENDED FOOD

Suspended Food is a new concept that is catching up all over the world.  When you go to a restaurant you order food for two and eat your share.  The other share is reserved for a person who needs the food and cannot afford to pay for the same.

It all began nearly 100 years ago in Italy with the "caffe sospeso" which means "Suspended Coffee".  The customer will pay twice for one espresso, instructing the baristo to record the extra amount.  Paid items would then remain in the logbook until someone less fortunate would come and ask for something to drink. They would then be served the coffee for free.

It is a fantastic system that works on goodwill whereby the donors would never meet the beneficiaries.

Starbucks adopted the campaign recently and took the concept of "Suspended Coffee" across the world.

The Good Samaritans in Singapore have started a facebook campaign through a fb page "chope food for the needy".  It will allow people to reserve food in the food court and hawker stalls around the city and the food will be served to the needy.

The concept of "Suspended Food" has caught on well in Hongkong as well.  Watch this video:

While feeding yourself and treating yourself to a good lunch you end up paying for food which is reserved for someone who needs it and does not have the means to pay.  You do not know who that someone is and will never get to know or identify.  It is a great feeling to do something for someone whom you dont know and will never be able to identify and meet.

While it is a fantastic concept the real challenge is in implementing it and ensuring that the purpose is served well.  If the restaurant that I frequent is willing to do this in a credible way, I will have no hesitation to pay for two meals every time I go there to have a meal.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
31st July 2013