Nonthaburi’s Jack’s Waterfall Noodles stops free meals due to misuse

Sakrapee Pathomthasaporn, known as Jack, owner of the popular noodle restaurant Jack’s Waterfall Noodles in Nonthaburi, has made a difficult decision to stop serving free meals. For over a year, Jack has been known for his generosity, offering free bowls of noodles to the elderly, disabled, homeless, pregnant women, and anyone who couldn’t afford a meal.

However, his goodwill gesture was exploited by some who misused this opportunity. Jack was left disheartened by their ungrateful behaviour, leading him to reconsider his generous initiative. The decision to withdraw the free meals came into effect today, following several instances of unappreciative behaviour.

Jack’s noodle shop started offering free meals about a year ago, usually given out at the front of the shop and the Nonthaburi pier. His target was the needy, homeless people, who often slept rough around the pier area. The free meals were a gesture of goodwill to those who were less fortunate. However, Jack noticed a shift in the type of people who started visiting his shop after he put up a sign offering free meals.

About four months after he put up the sign, Jack noticed that the majority of the people coming for free meals were not the needy ones he intended to help. For instance, a group of nine elderly women began visiting his shop regularly. Men from this group would come to his shop every day, ordering special dishes instead of the regular free meal Jack was offering. He observed cases where people would bring their friends to enjoy the free meals, some would even take food to go, which was against his rules.

One individual, in particular, would arrive early in the morning for a free meal, which Jack found disconcerting as the morning period is usually for paid orders. This individual would often ask for free meals like three pieces of beef noodles and would help himself to four to five rounds of ice. Some people, knowing that the shop was offering free meals, would frequently visit. On occasions, they would even show a 1,000-baht note, creating confusion about whether they intended to pay or not.

Due to these incidents, Jack decided to stop offering free meals. He felt that the original intent of his goodwill gesture was lost. Instead of spreading happiness, he was left dealing with the ungrateful behaviour of some individuals. He felt the initiative, which was meant to be a source of joy, turned into a burden.

Found Challenging

Jack had tried to maintain his patience, encouraging his staff to stay calm. He had hoped that the initiative would provide food to those in need but it seemed to have turned into a daily feeding programme for certain individuals. He found it challenging to deal with the situation, especially when people would bring their friends, occupy the shop for long hours, and order expensive items without considering his costs.

Jack wished to remind people to respect such opportunities and be considerate of others. He advised anyone planning to start a similar food donation initiative to plan carefully to avoid the challenges he faced, reported KhaoSod.