basically the target is some food like the title says.
tell me what you think of this offering.
Why?
It's covered by Individual (a single item of food, a single dish), or group (a table covered in food, a punnet of apples).
This is an unnecessary target.
Food is uncountable - so the munchkins could abuse it to feed the masses.
I think that everything on a plate is covered by Individual (not group, +1 size, for a plate full of spaghetti)
But why food: It's not permanent and the number of magi with eating disorders may be rather small.
So why not use "container" as a new target (that also covers baskets, chests, plates etc)
Useless.
That one however, sounds like a definite possibility. Should probably change to some type of container of a at least roughly predetermined size though(without being limited to that exact type, but rather to its rough size or volume)? Or?
Container, like group, has a base definition. If we take it as one amphora (and use it as a newly rediscovered Mercurian target, for that Roman feel 
) of standard size, that gives us a pre-set volume to work with. I'd have it as the same modifier as group, but for a liquid or gaseous target.
Then, you use size mods to increase it. At a certain point, you'll reach the point where it's easier to treat the target container as a room and use that target size.