When will restuarants learn that they should offer half portions to customers? Serving sizes are over double!

Question

When will restuarants and fast food companies learn that serving sizes today are just too big? Don't they understand that by making serving sizes over twice what they should be they are sabotoging the health of our nation. In addition, they are contributing to mass waste of food as most normal people can never finish a full serving of food at any restuarant. Why can't they just offer half portions at half the cost? It would save food, make customers happy and help heal the obese epidemic that has a stronghold on our nation. Why do they insist on fattening us up or telling us to just throw the rest away. I for one am about to boycott resturants for this reason. Who's with me?

Answer 1

It wouldn't be cost effective for the restaurants to prepare all those half orders. Just eat half and have them wrap up what you leave and you can eat it at home the next day. Nobody is forcing you to eat it all. If you are overweight, it is because you eat too much, make too many bad food choices and don't exercise enough. That isn't the fault of the restaurant. A boycott of restaurants because the portions are too big is ridiculous.

Answer 2

When people stop going to them.

I put 2/3 of my food in a "to go" container, which I ask them to make sure to bring BEFORE I get my meal, and I put it in there as soon as my food arrives at the table. Once you eat out of the plate, the food can become contaminated, so I never eat out of the plate until I put away the portion I plan to bring home for the next day's lunch.

If they served half-sized portions, they'd charge only 80% of what the huge portion costs. That's part of the reason why people buy the large portion, even though many restaurants will give you the half if you ask for it.

Most people feel they don't want to pay ten dollars for a small portion when they can get double or more for only twelve dollars. Then they eat it, so that's also why I put away my take home portion BEFORE I begin to eat.

Hope this helps you, because it's unlikely the restaurant industry will change.



./

Answer 3

Restaurant owners / managers realize that customers want to feel as though they are getting a good value for their money. It's up to the consumer to stop eating too much. Asking for a to go box at the beginning of the meal and having the server work with the kitchen to place a portion of the meal directly in the box is one way. My husband and I often order a meal and ask the chef to split it for us...not to save money, but because the meal is just too big. Many restaurants offer a "light" menu that has smaller portions. If you go online to your favorite restaurant's web page and email a request to start serving a light menu, they will know that you desire this alternative. Boycotting them would only be effective if done on a large scale. I do agree that portions are too big for the most part.

Answer 4

Some restaurants do offer "1/2 servings." However, the majority of the dining population prefers a whole serving. There are those of us, myself included, who can't physically eat a whole serving of anything (I had gastric bypass surgery). When it's appropriate, I ask for the kid's menu. When it's not, ask for a smaller version. Normally, the waitperson will ask the manager and they comply. You will only save a couple of bucks. You can always take it home (be sure to transfer the meal to an airtight container or foil - don't leave it in the styrofoam to go box) for the next meal. Folks in the US will not boycott any restaurant - not even Wendy's when they thought they found a finger in the chili!! Good luck!!

Answer 5

I don't eat out enough to worry about serving sizes; If I know I'm going out for a meal, I compensate for it with the other meals. Also, some restaurants allow adults to eat off of the children's menu. At the Olive Garden my husband and I used to dine in a Columbus, OH suburb, I would order the whole wheat pasta with plain tomato sauce off of the children's menu. At the O'Charley's restaurants I've been to, I've also been allowed to order off of the children's menu--Pasta with tomato sauce and a baked potato. When I've been there with my husband, we were also ordering beer, so that might have been a factor. At the last O'Charley's I've been to, the waiter told me I could only order from the children's menu only if I had a medical reason to do so. I told him it was about the only thing on the menu that was vegetarian (I may have said vegan) friendly. He told me of the vegetable palte, which I told him I had had and while good, not worth the money.

Being vegan, I'm occasioanly just "regulated" to the sides list, where I can control how much I order. Also, since they're mostly veggies, I'm not overly worried about calories, fat, etc.

Either take half home, and/or don't eat out as much.

Answer 6

People demand value for their money... so big portions aren't likely to go away soon. And I think consumers should be responible for their actions- if you go out, order huge portions and eat it all at once, that's not the restaurants fault.

Many restaurants will give you the "lunch size" portion, which is smaller and less $$ even at the dinner hour (Olive garden is my favorite for this), or you can ask the server to have the chef put half of the full order in the "to go" box before the meal hits your table.

Answer 7

I agree with you, BUT the vast majority of US consumers actually do eat that much. That's why so many of us are fat. The problem is that if the restaurant started to cut the portion sizes, they would make these people mad, and they would stop coming to the restaurant. Face it, making $ and staying in business is the goal, and any business decision maker is going to provide what the majority of consumers are looking for. It is a vicious cycle. I wonder what our great grandchildren will call a normal portions size, half of a cow ?

Answer 8

Good point and many restaurants will now.If you ask restaurant owner or manager if they would serve half a meal i think most good restaurants will.I managed large restaurant for a long time and we served half portions and still do at 50% of regular cost.We serve many people this way and we also get a lot of repeat business from these customers.Good luck.

Answer 9

Ask them to only serve you with a specific portion and tell them to put the rest into a container. Take it home and keep it for another days dining. Fast food places won't do this, but restaurants will. With your fast food places, divide up what you want to eat and keep the other for another day before you munch into it.

Answer 10

I TOTALLY agree with you! But, I don't think we are going to reduce portion size anytime soon even though the health industry is trying to tell us to do so. I just read and article about how the USA has a "surplus" of food and it NEEDS to sell all this food or else it will go to watse.

This is such a PITTY!