Saw someone stealing from a Foodbank point in Tesco

[Monty27]

Rant
I couldn't believe my eyes I seriously couldn't. His appearance looked clean and smart I just saw him from behind and I thought he was putting in a donation and if my eyes didn't deceive me he actually walked off with an item and put it in his shopping bag. I didn't report or challenge him it was so shocking.
Ill email Tesco and the Foodbank about it.
But just how low can society get?

See even as a cop I do t refer to addicts as smack rats .

Anyone can succumb to addiction and what's heroin? It's a pain killer .

Yeah some addicts aren't nice but the ones I've dealt with have always been compliant on arrest and never violent . That's just my experience but maybe because I'm a woman , older and actually quite sympathetic maybe they act differently with me . I got to know our regulars by name . They don't want to live like that - I mean seriously it's a crappy crappy existence. I really feel for them tbh because they don't get hooked on heroin for no reason.

Theres plenty of help if they wanted it, tablets/methadone. Rehab which I appreciate is a bit more difficult to get into.

Who do you think is buying that baby milk? It's still a crime ( like the majority of them) caused by raging poverty and inequality, you solve that and people would no longer be queueing up to buy cut price stolen baby milk. It's criminal the state of wages in this country and the supermarkets with their zero hours contracts and minimum wages and huge waste are some of the worst, they deserve all they get.

Remember if you see someone stealing food, no you didn't.

And people stealing the milk push the price up for other parents. Healthy start vouchers are actually the easiest to access and so the most vulnerable will be able to get their milk more or less for free. There is a big market abroad for European milk as other places don't have such high standards, there have been deaths in places East from contaminated or poor quality formula, some are willing to pay big bucks.

If you see someone stealing food, yes you did, and despite the narrative not all of them are doing so to feed their hungry children.

So Mumsnet says absolutely fine then to steal food as only desperate people steal from supermarkets.

It's a very blinkered perception of the world.

Next thing they will do is start calling these junkiesl addicts modern day robin hoods. As they sell all the meat, cheese, coffee, baby milk cheap to people who don't want to pay full price cant cant afford it .

Theres plenty of help if they wanted it, tablets/methadone. Rehab which I appreciate is a bit more difficult to get into

Yesterday I went to support my friend who works with addicts at the recovery games . I mingled with her clients , all have substance misuse issues . One is an ex professional. They absolutely put me to shame in their drive and enthusiasm, one used to swim for county and 2 of them swam out to an inflatable assault course in the middle of a lake . 2 others climbed a 100ft assault course . They were all lovely , chatty , nice people. They win their respective heats . Their abilities were actually awesome. And help isn't readily available. It's hard to access . And it's hard work for them when they've usually given up on life . I have amazing respect for my friend who works with them and they all had proper normal lives before addiction hit for varying reasons. 2 of the women were victims of horrific domestic abuse . (And I mean horrific- one woman had been thrown from a rooftop car park)

I have respect for everyone I come into co tact with both professionally and in life generally. Those men and women I saw yesterday were inspirational but by no means home and dry .

(That's still not to say I agree with shoplifting but I understand why it happens - but my guess is someone taking something from the charity box isn't an addict or so ooor they couldn't afford it - either they've misunderstood what it's there for or they're just a cf !)

Were clearly have differant experiences with them.

I was in my local co-op when I saw a woman take a jar of coffee from the donation point . She was chatting to the assistant who must have seen . I was shocked but I guess they must have been in collusion or the assistant knew the woman was struggling.

I can’t believe that people are OK about this. We always buy for the food bank on payday and want the food to make it there. Coffee isn’t an essential item in my opinion. If he was taking a can of baked beans then I guess that would show he might be desperately hungry but if you’re thirsty then there’s always water to drink. I can remember being so desperate for my mum to buy squash but she could hardly ever afford it so water it was. It would never have occurred to any of us to go and steal some when there’s an alternative. He needs to get a referral to a food bank like other people do.

Quick derail , sorry!

if you don’t shop at Morrisons but want to help out in a quick and easy way: it prepares, labels and prices complete meals/children’s school bars/pots of fruit salad/baby pouches etc. (lots don’t need cooking). You pick one up at the entrance, pay for it at the till and put it on another rack on your way out. It’s then distributed by the store to local food banks.

As you were 😁

You have nothing to be ashamed about. Your kid needed (and you) food. It’s the fucking up system and those who create it that should be ashamed a mother who was injured HAD to do that to survive. I’m so sorry