I also find the current mechanic poorly balanced and also weird (who eats a loaf of bread every 6 seconds? xD )
I'm on board with almost all suggestions that were posted here to fix that. I would go with a food buff (1dX temp HP or +1 on next skill check/attack roll or something...) and to be only able to consume food once every short rest or at least simply out of combat.
PS: also +1 on more short rests and some repercussions for long rests. Although I do understand that the D&D resting system is difficult to get right in a PC game.
