What’s wrong with ‘taking away’ at a party?

When you attend a party these days, one of the things you easily notice is people who take extra food and drinks away after having their fill. Is there anything wrong with this habit?

I attended a wedding early this year after paying for the asoebi at an outrageous sum and battling with the seamstress to get my cloths ready. I also had to rack my brain to get a gift that would stand out from the other gifts, yet not too expensive. I left the comfort of my bed to spend the night with a friend, whose house was closer to the wedding venue. I did that because the traditional wedding was to start by 7am, and I needed to attend it.

I had to leave the wedding reception midway as I was famished and thirsty despite the fact that there was food everywhere. There was surplus food and drinks, but only a select few or those who were brazen enough to confront the servers, got food. I sat on a table of eight, but only one person got served. He got four bottles of wine and packs of juice. And he was the only one that still got food and water. I later got to know that one of the servers, who was also a guest, was his relative; so she was giving him to keep for her to ‘take away.’

She wasn’t the only one. There were several people who had eaten but were hustling for ‘take away,’ whereas several guests hadn’t gotten even a bottle of water. As expected, it turned out to be a rowdy affair. 

It has also been observed that not everyone requests for ‘take away’ while guests are still being served. I recall a wedding anniversary dinner where a woman and her friend at my table signaled a server to request for ‘take away’ when he was through with the guests.

The issue of ‘taking away’ is no news to Nigerians. To some, it is a norm, while to others, it is wrong.

Abu Mustapha, a graduate waiting for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme said: “I think it is the mentality of Africans. Both the poor and the rich do it. Taking food home from a party does not mean that particular person is hungry. At most parties I have attended, I observed that most people don’t do it because they cannot afford food at home. They just do it because it has become a norm of sorts. Personally, I don’t do it, not because I think it is bad, but because I am shy. I don’t think it is a big deal at all.”

Nseekpo Henry, a biochemist, offered a plausible explanation on why some people take food away from parties. “I don’t think it is bad. This is because some people are ashamed to eat outside; so they wouldn’t want to eat when the food is being served. They prefer to take it home,” he explained.

He however, added that some guests would want to avoid wastage while some are greedy: “But some guests, after consuming a lot, still want to take food home because it is surplus. On the other hand, some people are just portraying what I call ‘ojukokoro’ (greed in Yoruba) in local parlance.”

Wale Adebayo, a webmaster in a media company, sees taking away at parties as a way of ‘saving for the future.’ “I do not blame people who do future reserve at parties because all fingers are not equal. Some persons only get to eat such nice delicacies at parties. They either do not have the money to cook those kinds of food at home or they probably do not know how they are prepared,” Henry said.

“There are some who do future reserve at parties because they want to have more to eat at home, or probably have people at home they are packaging it for. It could even be for their dogs. However, I am not against taking away food at parties irrespective of the reason. The person doing it is just helping the organisers save the food from wasting,” he added.

Juliet Okeruego, a makeup artist said: “Taking away or not taking away depends on the kind of party you attend. But more often than not, it is wrong, especially when it won’t go round.”

Ademola Wemimo, a teacher, reacted thus: “Some people also carry food from parties because they want to take it home to their husbands, wives or kids. This reason is common, especially among women. They want to share what they ate at a party with their families. It doesn’t mean they can’t cook or don’t have food; there is something special about party food. Even when you cook the same food at home, it won’t be like that of the party.”