Later, She Stole The ‘Volunteers Needed’ Sign

Harry Gross, who’s been doing a financial advice column for the Daily News since approximately 1925, occasionally gets questions that aren’t quite about financial advice. (People occasionally make the wrong left when headed to the The Ethicist. One time he answered a question as to when someone born on Feb. 29 should celebrate her birthday. Okay, I don’t know who that was originally for. Marilyn vos Savant, perhaps?)

Today’s column also contains a non-finance question, but it’s a doozy:

Dear Harry: I volunteer at a facility where we offer free meals to the indigent. The meals are individually packaged in aluminum containers that the “patrons” take home and heat in an oven. They are frozen, so there is virtually no problem of spoilage. A few weeks ago, one of the other volunteers said she’d had a hectic day and would be unable to prepare dinner, so she took two dinners. She now does so every time she volunteers. It’s not as if she really cannot afford to buy whatever she wants (she drives a big Lexus and has some magnificent jewelry), but it started to get in my craw. I’m wondering whether to ask her to stop, report her to the administration, or ignore it.

Let me attempt to answer this. Uhh, what? You not only report her to the administration, you punch her in her fucking mouth and see if dollar bills come flying out. Why does Lexus Lady need a homeless happy meal — oh, sorry, an indigent blue plate special — anyway? And, anyway, who steals from charities that give out free meals to those less fortunate than us? What, exactly, does her family think when she brings home meals supposed to go to people without Lexi?

Harry Gross | Volunteer takes home food intended for poor [Daily News]