[nabs-l] Serving Yourself Food
Peter Donahue
pdonahue1 at sbcglobal.net
Fri Nov 14 03:40:27 UTC 2008
Good evening everyone,
Cafeteria personnel are not obligated to assist you with serving your food.
Finding a competent blind person who can negotiate complicated room layouts
including those with large areas to navigate and who can manage a cafeteria
line independently and learning their, "Tricks of the trade" is the best
medicine for this condition.
Peter Donahue
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hope Paulos" <hope.paulos at maine.edu>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 6:20 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Serving Yourself Food
HiBeth. I'm not sure how your cafeteria is set up, but if I go
to the union, the central cafeteria in my college, which is very
big, I go to the cash register and ask someone to assist me in
walking around to each station. Then they'll assist me with
ringing me up and to find a table. This cafeteria is really big.
One big room with another room coming off of that and stairs
everywhere. There are balconies to sit on, too. It's a nice
place, but I don't like the size. Smile. As far as what the
woman said, it was uncalled for. Was that an employee that told
you this, or merely a student?
Hope and Beignet
> ----- Original Message -----
>From: Beth <thebluesisloose at gmail.com
>To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>Date sent: Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:49:24 -0500
>Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Serving Yourself Food
>The reason the staff doesn't want to help at peak hours is
because
>there are less of them doing more work. The manager e-mailed me
today
>when I sent him an e-mail. I e-mailed the location manager
saying
>what was up, and he said why not sit down and let somene just
bring it
>to me. Well, not a bad idea. But I'll have to let him know if
it
>appens again. Honestly, I'm more worried about obtaining my
basic
>needs right about now. But I could get my own tray, but then I'd
have
>to carry it around all day. But then there's this one lady who
said
>the staff isn't paid to serve a blind customer. I mean, not in
that
>manner we're talking about. I didn't appreciate the woman's
comments
>as much as I don't appreciate bad service or help forthousands of
>dollars in a meal plan contract, even though Florida's Division
of
>Blind Services sponsors it. It's still thousands of taxpayer
dollars
>going into MY meal plan.
>Beth
>On 11/13/08, Serena <serenacucco at verizon.net> wrote:
>> Honestly, I don't see why the staff doesn't wanna help you. I
don't mean to
>> say they owe you anything, but I even got help carrying my food
in college.
>> The trays they had there were simply too big for my really small
hands. I
>> think some of the staff weren't too into the idea at first, but
then, the
>> managers got everybody on board. I realize now, I could've
bought my own
>> tray before going to college, but I guess I felt orienting to
campus and
>> dealing with hiring and firing readers was more important than
trying to
>> deal with the cafeteria scene.
>> Serena
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Beth" <thebluesisloose at gmail.com
>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 7:43 AM
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Serving Yourself Food
>>> Good idea. I'll have to go sometime, but how do I deal with the
staff
>>> problem now whle I don't have a tray?
>>> Beth
>>> On 11/13/08, Ashley Bramlett <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
>>>> Beth,
>>>> If you want to shop at Walmart or somewhere paratransit is not a
good
>>>> idea
>>>> since they can be unreliable keeping you waiting or come before
your are
>>>> finished shopping.
>>>> I'd suggest getting a ride. Much easier said than done. I had
that
>>>> problem
>>>> too. But ask around. Ask your hall mates. Ask your roommate
if she
>>>> drives. Any friendly faculty or staff? Once or twice a nice
nursing
>>>> faculty member gave me a ride to the mall. If you do get a ride
offer to
>>>> pay gas or something for it.
>>>> Ashley
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Beth" <thebluesisloose at gmail.com
>>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 10:34 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Serving Yourself Food
>>>>> Good idea. However, I have a problem with the paratransit bus
>>>>> service. Since I live in a dorm, I can't necessarily designate
a
>>>>> place for the paratransit driver to pick me up. Worse, I have
to wait
>>>>> an hour more than necessary for them to pick me back up. Hence,
my
>>>>> friend and I have nicknamed it "dial-a-wait."
>>>>> Beth
>>>>> On 11/12/08, Linda Stover <liamskitten at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>> Beth,
>>>>>> What about paratransite? I have a friend who schedules them to
take
>>>>>> him to a particular place, and then pick him up in their next
window
>>>>>> of opportunity.
>>>>>> Courtney
>>>>>> On 11/12/08, Beth <thebluesisloose at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>> Good thinking, Heather. Trick is to get someone with a car to
bring
>>>>>>> me down there.
>>>>>>> Beth
>>>>>>> On 11/12/08, H. Field <missheather at comcast.net> wrote:
>>>>>>>> Hi Beth,
>>>>>>>> Take your own tray to the dining hall with you.
>>>>>>>> Places like Walmart have a huge array of tray choices, many of
them
>>>>>>>> value for money. Spend half an hour choosing the inexpensive
tray
>>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>>> would most fit your needs. Then, simply take your own tray with
you
>>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>>> all of your meals in the dining-hall. This will improve your
ability
>>>>>>>> to be independent and will lessen the ability of others to
impact
>>>>>>>> your
>>>>>>>> day.
>>>>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>>>> Heather Field
>>>>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>>>> From: "Beth" <thebluesisloose at gmail.com
>>>>>>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>>>>>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>> Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 4:02 PM
>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Serving Yourself Food
>>>>>>>> Thank God I found this e-mail, Arielle. I'm having a huge
problem
>>>>>>>> with staff at my dining hall who are not willing to help me get
my
>>>>>>>> food or serve myself. Since I have to hold a cane in my right
hand
>>>>>>>> and since they don't have trays and since the stations are mre
than
>>>>>>>> one and helter-skelter and since nobody taught me how to
maneuver
>>>>>>>> around that big cafeteria, I'm blown away by how rude the staff
has
>>>>>>>> behaved lately. During peak hours, I'd walk in and say that I
needed
>>>>>>>> some help, and nobody helps out. Their excuse? Short staff. I
>>>>>>>> spoke
>>>>>>>> to a few people on the matter, and since the cafeteria people
aren't
>>>>>>>> willing to help, they say I should talk to a manager about this.
I
>>>>>>>> wish I could see now so that I could serve myself and not have
to
>>>>>>>> hold
>>>>>>>> a cane in my right hand and not have to be so precise with
holding
>>>>>>>> stand-alone bowls and stuff.
>>>>>>>> Beth
>>>>>>>> On 11/12/08, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>>>>>> With serving food as a blind person there are two issues. The
first
>>>>>>>>> is knowing what you're dishing out without seeing it, and the
second
>>>>>>>>> is properly maneuvering the food with the utensils from the
serving
>>>>>>>>> container to your plate and ensuring that you are dishing up an
>>>>>>>>> appropriate amount.
>>>>>>>>> To resolve the first issue, since touching is not really an
option,
>>>>>>>>> the best thing is to get information--either from people ahead
of
>>>>>>>>> you
>>>>>>>>> in the buffet line or from whomever is serving the
food/setting up
>>>>>>>>> the buffet. Obviously once you've learned the order of the
buffet
>>>>>>>>> once, it'll be easier to go back and serve oneself
independently
>>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>> second time around. When serving "family-style" and passing
>>>>>>>>> dishes
>>>>>>>>> around the table, this problem is virtually nonexistent since
it's
>>>>>>>>> easy to find out what someone has passed you before serving
>>>>>>>>> yourself from it.
>>>>>>>>> The second issue, though, is one that does take practice to
overcome
>>>>>>>>> especially for those of us who were not expected to serve
ourselves
>>>>>>>>> growing up. I wasn't really expected to do it at all until I
was a
>>>>>>>>> teenager, which caused me to struggle a bit with the mechanics
of
>>>>>>>>> maneuvering the food and gauging the portion size. I improved
at
>>>>>>>>> this a lot when I was in training at the Louisiana Center
where
>>>>>>>>> we
>>>>>>>>> had to serve ourselves in a buffet line (with sleepshades on)
>>>>>>>>> whenever someone prepared their final cooking project (a meal
for
>>>>>>>>> forty). Like others have said, operating the utensils
correctly
>>>>>>>>> does
>>>>>>>>> take practice and trial and error. A training center is a great
>>>>>>>>> place
>>>>>>>>> to develop this skill because everyone else is practicing, too,
and
>>>>>>>>> so
>>>>>>>>> there's not as much pressure to do it exactly right or move
>>>>>>>>> quickly
>>>>>>>>> through the line. You can also practice by cooking yourself
>>>>>>>>> something and transferring some of it from one container to
>>>>>>>>> another
>>>>>>>>> (even if it's just Ramen or Easy Mac).
>>>>>>>>> To gauge portion sizes I've used two techniques. One is to
feel
>>>>>>>>> how
>>>>>>>>> much weight I've added to my plate or bowl and how the
weight is
>>>>>>>>> distributed. The other, if it's hot or steaming food that
I'm
>>>>>>>>> serving, is to hold my hand a little above the plate/bowl and
feel
>>>>>>>>> how much heat is rising from the food and how far it is
spreading.
>>>>>>>>> If I don't have enough food, there won't be much heat and it'll
be
>>>>>>>>> confined to one little spot instead of spreading across a wide
area.
>>>>>>>>> One more thing that hasn't come up yet is the proper way to
serve
>>>>>>>>> soup, stew, etc. with a ladel. I used to have the toughest
time with
>>>>>>>>> this until I went to the center and figured out what my
problem
>>>>>>>>> was.
>>>>>>>>> Because ladels have a sharp curve in the middle, when I was
holding
>>>>>>>>> the handle straight, the bowl part of the ladel was actually
>>>>>>>>> tipped
>>>>>>>>> and I was spilling stuff before I could get it in the bowl. I
had to
>>>>>>>>> figure out how to angle the handle (so it felt crooked) but the
bowl
>>>>>>>>> was actually facing straight up. I think other blind people
have
>>>>>>>>> been fooled by this deceptive handle as well which is why I
bring it
>>>>>>>>> up. You can practice this by playing with an empty ladel
(like
>>>>>>>>> while
>>>>>>>>> you are doing dishes) and hold the bowl in your non-dominant
hand
>>>>>>>>> while you angle the handle with your dominant one. Bend the
handle
>>>>>>>>> until you can feel that the bowl is facing straight up (even
>>>>>>>>> though
>>>>>>>>> the handle will feel crooked) and then try to remember the angle
>>>>>>>>> when
>>>>>>>>> you are serving things with the ladel.
>>>>>>>>> HTH,
>>>>>>>>> Arielle
>>>>>>>>> On 11/12/08, Serena <serenacucco at verizon.net> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> I pretty much use the same type of bowl, what we Italians call a
>>>>>>>>>> maccaroni
>>>>>>>>>> bowl, so i usually just put as much maccaroni in there as will
fit.
>>>>>>>>>> I
>>>>>>>>>> love
>>>>>>>>>> to eat! lol Meat is trickier, but I usually have only one piece
of
>>>>>>>>>> that,
>>>>>>>>>> anyhow.
>>>>>>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>>>>>> From: "Harry Hogue" <harryhogue at yahoo.com
>>>>>>>>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>>>>>>>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>>>> Sent: Monday, November 10, 2008 9:53 PM
>>>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Serving Yourself Food
>>>>>>>>>> Serena, this may sound like a slightly silly question, but do
you
>>>>>>>>>> learn
>>>>>>>>>> what
>>>>>>>>>> an appropriate portion size is by weight, etc, or by how many
>>>>>>>>>> ladle-fulls,
>>>>>>>>>> spoon-fulls, etc? I have never really wanted to do that because
I
>>>>>>>>>> didn't
>>>>>>>>>> want to slowly anybody down or look awkward, etc. But I agree
it is
>>>>>>>>>> important...
>>>>>>>>>> Harry
>>>>>>>>>> --- On Sun, 11/9/08, Serena <serenacucco at verizon.net> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> From: Serena <serenacucco at verizon.net
>>>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Serving Yourself Food
>>>>>>>>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>>>>>>>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>>>> Date: Sunday, November 9, 2008, 6:47 PM
>>>>>>>>>> Hi Harry
>>>>>>>>>> I always serve my own food at home with immidate family. I
think
>>>>>>>>>> it's
>>>>>>>>>> important to learn that skill. At family gatherings and on
buffet
>>>>>>>>>> lines,
>>>>>>>>>> however, others do it for me cause we're all having pretty much
the
>>>>>>>>>> same
>>>>>>>>>> things. Even at State Convention this weekend, there was a
survor
>>>>>>>>>> serving
>>>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>>> breakfast buffet to everyone.
>>>>>>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harry Hogue"
>>>>>>>>>> <harryhogue at yahoo.com
>>>>>>>>>> To: <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>>>> Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2008 5:39 PM
>>>>>>>>>> Subject: [nabs-l] Serving Yourself Food
>>>>>>>>>> Hello everyone,
>>>>>>>>>> With the holidays coming up, here's an interesting point for
>>>>>>>>>> discussion.
>>>>>>>>>> At family gatherings, or perhaps even at home with immediate
>>>>>>>>>> family, do
>>>>>>>>>> you
>>>>>>>>>> serve your own plate or do you have someone else serve the plate
>>>>>>>>>> for you?
>>>>>>>>>> As for me, I have always had someone else always serve my plate
at
>>>>>>>>>> family
>>>>>>>>>> gatherings and at home with my family, for that matter, simply
>>>>>>>>>> because it
>>>>>>>>>> is
>>>>>>>>>> quicker and there is less risk of spilling, etc. I am, however,
>>>>>>>>>> reminded
>>>>>>>>>> of
>>>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>>> importance of being comfortable with this task by my Costa Rica
>>>>>>>>>> experience.
>>>>>>>>>> My
>>>>>>>>>> host mother told me what was where and even made sure I knew
where
>>>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>>> serving
>>>>>>>>>> spoon was--but I was not comfortable at 20 years old to serve my
>>>>>>>>>> own plate
>>>>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>>>>> had to ask her to serve the plate for me. This, then, set up a
>>>>>>>>>> precedent
>>>>>>>>>> that as
>>>>>>>>>> a blind person I needed help with getting food.
>>>>>>>>>> 'm interested in hearing ohter thoughts. And if we serve
ourselves
>>>>>>>>>> at
>>>>>>>>>> home/at family gatherings, I then have to ask what is so
diferent
>>>>>>>>>> about
>>>>>>>>>> buffets,
>>>>>>>>>> especially if you're with someone else and they're getting rice,
>>>>>>>>>> chicken, potatoes, etc. and it's likely you would want some of
the
>>>>>>>>>> same
>>>>>>>>>> things.
>>>>>>>>>> Just some thoughts to consider.
>>>>>>>>>> Harry
>>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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