Why Doesn't The Org Feed It's Delegates Anymore?

by Englishman 18 Replies latest jw friends

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  Englishman

  I hear that food is no longer available at assemblies.

  Is that right?

  Nothing?

  Not even a cup of tea?

  This can't be right! If Jesus himself saw the need to feed the 5000 - and he was the Son of God, no less - then how come the society doesn't accept that it needs to feed it's followers?

  Just take a peek at this Watchtower article from the 50's:

  The

  Cafeteria’s Contribution

  >>>>>>> WITH one clean sweep, a large warehouse, an auto garage and a couple of good-sized tents were converted into a food-supply storage room, a spick-and-span kitchen and a cafeteria large enough to accommodate twenty-six serving lines, each about 40 feet by 60 feet. Such were the wonders performed by Jehovah’s witnesses at their Yankee Stadium assembly in 1950. Over 15,000 persons were fed through the cafeteria line in an hour. In a single meal featuring the various dishes four to five thousand pounds of beef, chicken, or fish were required. Up to 5,000 pounds of potatoes were used for each meal, as well as from six to seven hundred loaves of bread, 600 cans of vegetables and 400 gallons of salad. The first half of the eight-day assembly took a supply of 50,000 pounds of beef, 10,000 pounds of fish, 80 tons of canned vegetables, and crates of cabbages, lettuce and onions by the thousands.

  The kitchen organization to supply the necessities of the cafeteria consisted of fifty cooks and helpers, including at least a dozen experienced professional cooks. To prepare the supplies for cooking, a large number of women were employed to clean and peel the many vegetables. Professional butchers and meatcutters chopped and prepared the great volumes of meat required. Over 35,000 people poured through the cafeteria lines Sunday noon! The cafeteria meals were in good taste and of generous portions. Its convenience proved a great time-saver. The cafeteria’s contribution toward a successful convention can be appreciated only by seeing it firsthand.

  So do not fail to be in the cafeteria line, come assembly time July 19-26, 1953, at the Yankee Stadium !<<<<<<<<<<<

  Cheapskates!

  Englishman.
• 

  katiekitten

  Rumour was some people were 'enjoying' preparing the food more than the spiritual food provided by the FDS.

  Who knows. Its probably another VAT scam.
• 

  diamondblue1974

  I believe you fed your delegates extremely well over the weekend...keep on setting a fine example Englishman...

  G
• 

  blondie

  I don't know about the UK but several things probably factored in the US.

  The IRS was looking at the profit margin and thinking that they should get their cut.

  When they went to the donation arrangement in 1990 (including food), many JWs saw it as a way to get free food and were not donating money into the boxes at the conventions, at least not enough. Thus the WTS was not making the kind of money they used to that basically underwrote the costs of the convention. Having worked in food service for over 30 years, handling the finances behind the scenes, I can attest personally to the big drop in this area.

  Blondie
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  luna2

  I wondered about that at the time, blondie. Makes sense.

  I mean, the explanation that too much time was being taken up dealing with food also made some sense too...I know brothers and sisters could miss most of the assembly preparing or cleaning up after. LOL
• 

  MidwichCuckoo

  brothers and sisters could miss most of the assembly preparing or cleaning up after.

  This is the reason I heard - that those preparing food were missing the assmebly and it wasn't fair to them!
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  greendawn

  Given the poisonous quality of the umpteen times reheated spiritual food they can do without it.
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  mrsjones5

  Because the spiritual food you receive from the faithful and discreet slave is all you need to sustain you.

  Ok, time to puke

  Josie
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  Crumpet

  Eman - they realised they couldn't compete with your BBQs and gave up!

  Food was already being phased out when I was attending ages ago. The reason was all the new laws governing food hygiene in the UK meant that if they were serving and cooking food they had to have passed certain courses and tests. This would have involved sending the volunteers on training courses which would have had to have been paid for or getting outside companies in to do the food. And all those worldly chefs would have been inundated by shag thirsty sisters!
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  mtbatoon

  I was a food hall skiver. Started collecting cup holders in the breaks and over time worked my up to the holy grail of dish washing, working through the talks and no amount of volume on the PA could overcome the clanking of plates.

  *sighs* nearly happy days.