New York Magazine

Skip to content, or skip to search.

Skip to content, or skip to search.

quotables

Alek Wek Explains Her Doggie Bag Habit

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 27:  Model Alec Wek attends amfAR's Inspiration Gala at the Chateau Marmont on October 27, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.  (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Alek Wek, who was born in Southern Sudan, has always been surrounded by hungry people — just different kinds of them. "In this world, I found, many people were hungry too, but for different reasons. They wanted their bodies to look a certain way, whether their bodies were meant to or not. They chose not to eat," she told the Daily Beast. "Today, I live in the U.S., where restaurants serve huge portions on even huger platters, and people are tempted to eat too much ...  I always ask for a doggie bag, to bring the leftovers home. My ex-boyfriend suggested more than once that I cut this out, as he found it embarrassing. (Perhaps that’s why he is no longer my boyfriend.)"

Photo: Frazer Harrison/2011 Getty Images