Table
From Neverend
While the idea of placing an item anywhere at any place is nice, it's very painful on the system requirements. For food, drinks, dishes, silverware, and related items, they would mostly go on a table.
When out in the city or in the wilderness, a food item can be held by hand and eaten or drank. But does it really need to be set on the ground?
Tables can act as visible containers, with public or private permission to access the items. In a tavern, the bar counter has drinks that are placed on it, which belong to whoever paid for it. In a banquet setting, the table is either open to everyone, or open to those on a guest list.
The items displayed on the table can be picked up and put in inventory. Food items in inventory are meant to be placed on tables.
Food items that can be placed on the ground include raw meat and body parts, as animals will scavenge for them.
Tables that are being attacked and destroyed will be accountable for all items "stored" on them, which will most likely be destroyed. In this case, tons of small tiny food items will be dealt with swiftly if an attack occurs from enemies or major effects such as catapults. The table simply collapses and destroys food items, and drops non food items that can be placed on the ground such as weapons and armor (if those items can be placed on tables).
The alternative is to have every item able to be placed on any flat surface, in which case people can leave anything anywhere and each item will have to be individually dealt with by the server for location, status, and damaged or destroyed items, which takes more processing.
The other benefit is context related tables. A woodworker will have woodworker tools on their table, a butcher will have butcher tools and meat items on their table, and a residential place will have dinner tables, while a tavern will have a bar counter. To the game, the table is dependent on the context of the building, such as a woodworker shop, residential building, tavern, etc.
The table automatically chooses itself based on context. At least NPCs will know what table to use for what, in order to do their jobs.
Non food tables include craft related tables, study and lecture tables, court tables, podiums, altars, pedestals, etc. Tables are "containers" just bookshelves contain books that are still visible.
Speaking of which...
Art canvas stands, music stands, bookshelves, weapon racks, armor racks, weapon stand, armor stand, wall mount, map charts, wall plaques, wall signs, wall posters, desks, wardrobes, closets.
And if you wanted to be even more container friendly, think of a building as a container for furniture.
A city as a container for buildings.
An empire as a container for cities.
