The lines at food banks have been heartbreaking as so many people struggle to put food on their tables this year. National Geographic reports:
By the end of this year, more than 50 million people could experience food insecurity, according to Feeding America, the country’s largest hunger-relief organization. That’s one in six Americans and one in four children—nearly a 50 percent increase from 2019.
So it’s no wonder that some people have resorted to shoplifting food and other household necessities. The Washington Post reports there “is a growing subset of Americans who are stealing food to survive.”
Shoplifting is up markedly since the pandemic began in the spring and at higher levels than in past economic downturns, according to interviews with more than a dozen retailers, security experts and police departments across the country. But what’s distinctive about this trend, experts say, is what’s being taken — more staples like bread, pasta and baby formula.
The newspaper cites one Maryland woman as an example. She was forced to give up her job when her son’s daycare closed and since she quit she didn’t qualify for unemployment benefits. And “she says she was denied food stamps at least three times and gave up on local food banks because of the lines.” As she ran out of options “she began sneaking food into her son’s stroller at the local Walmart. She said she’d take things like ground beef, rice or potatoes but always pay for something small, like a packet of M&M’s. Each time, she’d tell herself that God would understand.”
Note to Congress: How about passing a stimulus bill now to help some of these people out?
