Evening star., 1915-02-07
USING HOTEL WASTE.
By Frederic ]. Haskin.

N=====l
s. s. we threw at least $4,000 worth of
fsood food into our waste consumer
East year." said hotel steward re-
ssently.
This would have been sufficient to
feed at least fifty families for whole
year, yet it all went up in smoke. 1t
is safe to say that millions of dollars
worth oY good food are being sacrificed
Zach year in the big hotels throughout
Ftfie country, while thousands of poor
lsesople are suffering from hunger. They
lrfght be fed with the food that is now
twasted. if only some way could be de-
,yfsed to distribute the bounty.
T., In the present stress of want, caused
sbS the European war and other condi-
icons affecting American industries.
t1umber of leading hotel men of the
.,eduntry are giving consideration to the
,;SGoblem of utilizing the enormous
ii.$aste from their dining rooms to sup
lshiS the needs of the hungry poor. The
,;nianager of one of the leading hostel
ll:sffes in New York announced last month
eiiat his hotel would supply fifty gallons
I;of' nourishing soup daily. if some chari-
Fable organization would arrange for
ltitS proper GlStrl DuIlOn.
/: -
1.-THE ethics Of frst-class hotel man
iEsement absolutely prohibit any arti-
-: Gle of food
Food Cannot Be being placed
E Served Second Time. euest a sec
nnd time The ingredients used for
t.... Iicho
iMhich could be readily made of small
fragments, do not consist of viands
t,ehieh. have been paid for once and are
giving the hotel second profit by be-
ing served again. Such methods may
prevail in second or third-rate estab-
Iishments, but the first-class caterer
charges a good price for each article
upon the menu and takes an honest
pride in giving his guests the fresh
food they pay for. The custom of
throwing the kitchen and pantry open
for public inspection. which is now so
prevalent in the best hotels. does away
with any secret process of using up
Ieft-overs The guests can easily as
certain for themselves that they are
being served with freshly prepared
food. Commendable as this may be
upon the part of the hotel keeper. this
method unquestionably brings about a
tremendous loss to the nation of the
best kinds of food products upon the
market
number of years ago a philan-
thropic old lady in Philadelphia under
took to provide for a family of five
small children who were suddenly or
phaned. Her means were small, but
she was determined to keep those lit
tie ones from going to an orphan asy-
lum. For two years she struggled
along, receiving gratefully some irreg-
ular contributions from people who be-
came aware of her undertaking. She
never asked for aid and her faith was
sorely tried at times with the fear that
she would run short of food for them.
The wife of the manager of a large hotel
happened to hear of her need. She was
aware Of the good food which was thrown
away each day under her husbands di-
rection- She decided that the waste in
one place could supply the need in an
other.
She arranged that a certain amount
of cooked food brought back from the
dining room
Ten Children Now should be re-
Are Cared For. for the philan,
thropist. An expressman who did the
hauling for the hotel volunteered to
deliver hamper each day. With this
guaranteed food supply, the old lady's
charity expanded still further. She
brought other destitute children into
her little house until it seemed almost
TO overflow For several years she has
had ten children under her care who
are thus spared the experience of in
stitution life and are living under nor
NAL home conditions, attending public
school and preparing for good citizen
ship. The good lady of the hotel still
provides abundant nourishing food.
Through her instrumentality other
generous people see that the little
house is supplied with coal and that
suitable clothing is not lacking.
Contrary to popular belief, soup is an
article which must be made fresh each
and nutrition demanded by the first
class chef. Soup which is warmed over
from one day to another passes through
a chemical change, deteriorating its
quality. There is no means of gauging
the soup requirement in most hotels,
must never be any shortage in the
supply. To avoid the possibility of
shortage. large quantities are made.
and, in consequence, many gallons of
this nourishing liquid are thrown out
every day. The hotel keepers would
be only too gladly to have it collected
and utilized for people who need food.
Some few of them distribute it them
selves.