Local Diner Implements To Go Container Fee, Community Outraged

The local social media groups and community based apps have been off to a solid start in 2024. Not only there to help the Hudson Valley with advice and suggestions, handyman, doctor or vacation recommendations, but also as a place to air concerns...and then rally the troops.

This week, i've been following along with some heated banter on Nextdoor, which is a neighborhood based app and community website where people can share concerns, buy and sell, and provide local recommendations.

Get our free mobile app

Local Diner Informs Customers of Fee For To-Go Containers

Everyone, no matter what your financial status is, has been feeling the impact of increased cost of living lately. People have been quite vocal about the fact that they are budgeting more these days, and going out to eat is not happening as often as it once did due to the cost of, well, everything, being higher.

READ MORE: Bagel Tax? Can You Be Charged Simply To Have A Bagel Sliced?

One Poughkeepsie resident took to the Nextdoor platform to share what he encountered at a local diner recently, where he was informed by the server that there would be a fee for the container to take his leftovers home.

While the name of the diner was not shared in the post, some people speculated as to where they have encountered this type of charge in the Poughkeepsie area.

253 comments later, the Hudson Valley has stated their case on their thoughts about the suspected reasoning behind the charge; some say overhead expenses, others claim inflation, and of course some people naturally took it in a political direction.

The comment section went off into a number of different tangents, with some locals getting straight to the point with 'if you don't like these charges, eat at home,' while others kindly (and some not so kindly) encouraged people to bring their own containers when they go out to eat.

SEE ALSO: Cash App and QR Code Tipping Requests

Is It The Small Fee, Or The 'Nickel and Dime' Nature These Days That's Bothering People?

While the charge was only $.50, the bigger discussion is about feeling 'nickel and dimed' these days when it comes to doing just about anything. A charge at stores for a paper bag (if a bag is even an option), fees at restaurants for using anything other than cash, the self-checkout craze, and don't even get me started on the whole tipping culture, life outside the house is a lot more expensive these days than it used to be.

What's your take, how would you respond? Pay for the container? Bring your own next time? No longer visit a particular establishment or business because of their fees and extra charges?