The Clean Plate Club

Red-letter day: I left a quarter-cup of rice on my plate at Thai E-Sarn restaurant in Arlington Heights at lunchtime.

I am a pathological member of the ‘Clean Plate Club’. It is painful for me to throw away food. I work hard to serve myself no more than I want to eat, but when there’s too much on my plate, I sometimes eat it all.

For years, our family budget was tight. We were raising six kids on one income and hoping to help each of them financially through college. I was conscious of the cost of every calorie.

One wintery February, in about 2005, I accompanied my dad to St. Croix. He always flew first class. The flight attendants brought us heated washcloths before take-off and served dinner on real crockery with metal flatware. Dad and I were seated in different rows, with a stranger sitting next to me. As is my wont, I ate every speck of food, even wiping the dish clean with a bit of bread I’d saved for that purpose. The man glanced over at my plate and said disdainfully, “Well, you must have liked that”. I felt like a unsophisticated yokel. I’m sure he’d never seen someone consume all the calories available  in-flight.

I still work really hard at serving myself modest amounts of food, consuming all the calories on my plate, or bringing home restaurant left-overs, but I’m trying not to be obsessive about it.

Did you know the Clean Plate Club was an actual, federally-sponsored organization? In 1917, Woodrow Wilson appointed Herbert Hoover to address World War I food shortages. Food rationing was implemented and voluntary 'meatless Mondays' and 'wheatless Wednesdays' were promoted.Hoover developed a pledge for schoolchildren:

“At table I’ll not leave a scrap of food upon my plate. And I’ll not eat between meals, but for supper time I’ll wait.”

The club was terminated after the war, but revived in 1947,  to address post-World War II food shortages. Elementary schools established local clubs and encouraged children to join. I remember my parents encouraging me to be part of my own Clean Plate Club. We certainly didn't throw much food away. It takes discipline to limit both waste and consumption. "Waste not, want not" combined with what my dad used to say, "Don't make your body a garbage can."

I feel a little sheepish admitting to the uneaten rice. Perhaps next time I'll ask specifically for a smaller portion.