This sort of thing is a little perverse imo. I don’t think anyone should be punished for stealing food, that’s a crime of hopeless poverty. My roomates were broke in college, spending nearly all money on rent and school. If someone wanted meat that week, they would ring up the chuck as bananas at self checkout. Otherwise it was rice and beans.
OK. What, in your mind, should grocery stores do about shrinkage? Bear in mind that grocery is a notoriously low-margin business, and stores can and will be shut down if shrinkage at a location is too high.
Rice and beans will sustain life. Theft isn't ok. I've used the food bank before and been homeless once, shoplifted once or twice and felt bad about it. Never once was it the last resort, there's always somewhere to get food. As a college student? That's just embarrassing. You can buy 30 packages of ramen for like $2.
Well, anybody starving is immoral. Food theft only hurts profits, not people. Also, ramen is wildly unhealthy being starch and salt with no other nutrients.
"hopeless poverty" != "attending college". If you chose higher education (at some considerable expense if you're in the states) over basic necessities like food, that was your decision. I don't see how it justifies theft.
It sounds more like they made the choice to take out less in loans than they needed than hopeless poverty. I would love for what I'm paying back not to include my food from college, but it does.
