An Open Letter to the Person Who Stole My Lunch from the Office Fridge

To the person who took my lunch,

I’m not mad. I’m just… disappointed. And hungry. Mostly hungry.

We’ve all been told it’s not a crime to take someone’s lunch from a shared office fridge. But I’m here to tell you that it is. It’s a crime against humanity, a betrayal of trust, and a violation of the unwritten laws of office etiquette.

I didn’t leave a five-star meal in the fridge. It was a simple turkey sandwich, some chips, and a can of seltzer. It was my fuel, my midday joy, a small moment of comfort in a sea of spreadsheets and deadlines. I’d made it with care, thinking about how good it would taste later that day.

When I opened the fridge, I saw your face in my mind’s eye. I pictured you, a colleague, a fellow human being, standing there, staring at my carefully packed lunch. You must have thought, “This looks good. I’ll take it.” And you did.

The theft of a lunch from an office fridge is not just a crime of opportunity; it’s a statement. It says, “My hunger is more important than yours.” It says, “I don’t care about your well-being or your meticulously planned lunch.”

You have created a ripple effect of chaos. My afternoon was a blur of hunger-induced grumpiness. I had to leave the office to get a replacement lunch, which cost me time and money.

So, to the person who stole my lunch, I hope you enjoyed it. I hope that turkey sandwich was everything you hoped it would be. I hope the chips were crispy and the seltzer was cold.

I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll be packing my lunch in a locked, tamper-proof lunchbox from now on.

I just hope that one day you’ll look back on this moment and realize the error of your ways. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll bring a little extra lunch to share with the rest of us.