Inside the lives of desperate mums shoplifting to survive the cost of living crisis | The Sun

WITH prices rising higher than they have done for 40 years, millions are now struggling to afford essentials – and some are resorting to the most extreme measures…

After dropping off her two young children at school, single mum Sarah (name has been changed) headed to her usual supermarket to do the weekly shop.

With no luxury items, it was the bare essentials she needed to keep her children fed and clean.

Adding up the cost as she went along, she suddenly realised that she didn’t have enough to pay for it all. 

Her heart thumping, she looked down at some of the most expensive items – a block of cheese, some fruit and a box of washing powder – and, on the spur of the moment, surreptitiously slid them under her large handbag in her trolley, before walking over to the till and paying for the rest of the items. 

“As I left the shop, I was convinced the security guard was going to stop me. I thought I was going to be sick,” she recalls. 

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“When I got outside, I didn’t feel relieved I’d got away with stealing – just a deep sense of shame.

“Despite working part-time, I felt like I’d been left with no choice.

“I couldn’t see my children go hungry and I couldn’t send them to school in dirty clothes.”

Sadly, Sarah is just one of many who have found themselves in a desperate situation since the cost of living crisis began in late 2021, fuelled by a perfect storm of rising gas prices, disruption to global supply chains and the war in Ukraine.

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According to the Office For National Statistics, 89% of the UK’s adult population has seen their cost of living increase dramatically, leading to 16 million people cutting back on food and essentials.

In August this year, prices rose higher than they had done in 40 years, with food in shops increasing by 5.1% and fresh food rising by a whopping 10.5%.

The following month, proposed tax cuts put forward by Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng in his mini-budget left financial traders predicting interest rate rises by the Bank of England could be nearly 6% by spring 2023, meaning rocketing rents and mortgages that will lead to further hardship for many of us.

Even with the recent U-turn on plans to scrap the 45p income tax rate for higher earners, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves says: “It’s come too late for the families who will pay higher mortgages and higher prices for years to come.

Plus, the government has also not ruled out further U-turns or even cuts to benefits in the future”

Despite soaring costs, Sarah’s wages from her receptionist job have – like so many others – stayed the same, and even taking on extra hours hasn’t helped enough.

On top of her take-home pay of £350 a month, Sarah receives £36.25 a week in child benefit and £300 in maintenance from her ex-partner, who she split from eight months ago.

After she has spent £500 on rent and £150 on bills, she is left with £145 a month for everything else, including food and essentials, public transport, clothes and the kids’ school events and trips. 

And she’s not alone. Recent research from national poverty charity Turn2us revealed almost half its users reported being left with nothing to live on each week after paying rent, council tax and utility bills.

“Every day, we see more people struggling to afford life’s absolute basics as the cost of living continues to push millions of people to the edge of a financial crisis,” says Michael Clarke, head of information programmes at Turn2us.

“We are hearing from parents who are making impossible choices between paying soaring energy bills or rent, or skipping meals to keep their children fed.

“This isn’t right. Many people using our services come to us when they are at their most desperate. And we fear the worst is yet to come.”

Skipping meals to feed her children is something Sarah is well used to.

“When the cost of living crisis started, I told myself things would be OK if I tightened my belt for a bit.

“I made sure I only put the heating on when it was really cold, and began to walk where possible to save on public transport costs – but it wasn’t enough,” she says.

“Soon I was skipping my evening meal to make sure my children didn’t go hungry and batch cooking twice a week so I didn’t have to use the oven every evening. 

“At night, hungry and sometimes cold, I felt low and useless and questioned how my life had come to this.”

Sarah says it was months of financial hardship that made her finally snap and shoplift for the very first time in her life – something she would never even have contemplated before.

“I come from a nice, decent family and considered myself a ‘normal’ mum. I’d never broken the law before and prided myself on being a good role model to my children,” she says. 

“I told myself I’d never shoplift again, but a month later, I had just £10 left.

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford food for the week, let alone laundry detergent and sanitary products for myself.

Outside the shop, I didn't feel relieved I'd got away with it – just a deep sense of shame

“I was too embarrassed to ask my family for help, and didn’t know how to go about finding a food bank.

“So after a sleepless night, trying and failing to come up with a solution, I went to a different supermarket and chose two bags of pasta and the cheapest tomato sauce I could find, plus two boxes of cereal, six bananas, a loaf of bread and two pints of milk – and that was my £10 gone.”

As Sarah added tampons, sanitary towels and the cheapest washing powder to her basket, her hands began to shake and her chest tightened.

Taking a deep breath, she headed to the self-service till, scanned her food, pressed pay, then pretended to scan the other items.

“That night, the guilt just ate me up and I couldn’t stop crying,” Sarah recalls. “I felt like a criminal and a bad mum.”

She called a close friend, who confided that another friend – a single mum of three – had also seen no alternative but to take items without paying for them, because she didn’t have any money left after paying her bills. 

In May this year, supermarket trade magazine The Grocer reported that store managers had noticed a rise in first-time shoplifters, with one saying they’d seen shoplifting starting to rise across everyday and low-value items, in contrast to the more often targeted luxury, high-cost items professional shoplifters take to sell on at a profit. 

In the same month, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Andy Cooke, told The Guardian that police officers should use discretion when deciding whether to prosecute desperate shoplifters amid rising poverty levels.

Jess Phillips, Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley and Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding, is not surprised some mums have shoplifted since the start of the cost of living crisis.

Where to get help

Call Citizens Advice and the Trussell Trust’s Help Through Hardship helpline free on 0808 208 2138.

StepChange provides free advice on what to do if you need help with money or food. Visit Stepchange.org and search “emergency help” or call 0800 138 1111.

FoodCycle uses surplus ingredients to provide free hot meals to those in need. Find your nearest location at Foodcycle.org.uk.

She says: “People, especially single mums, have been living on or over the edge for a long time already.

“But in the last three months, I’ve noticed a new level of edge in their voices and correspondence – they are upset and desperate.

“There’s this terrible unknown – people don’t know what’s coming, so I can imagine the amount of strain they’re under and the real fear they’re feeling will make them behave in ways which are completely contrary to their normal behaviour.” 

Jess is currently in contact with one woman, a single mum who is currently off sick from work, who at one point had just 7p left in her bank account to feed her and her children.

“What’s she supposed to do?” Jess says. “Even emergency resources take 48 hours to be put in place.”

Although Jess managed to arrange emergency food parcels, the woman in question is just one of many in a desperate situation. 

“It’s like living in a Dickens novel,” Jess says. “You wouldn’t believe the number of people living on uncooked food, such as crisp sandwiches, to save them the cost of putting the oven or microwave on.” 

Indeed, those on the lowest incomes are faring the worst.

New research from The Trussell Trust released last month found that more than 2 million people receiving Universal Credit had skipped meals during the previous three months, and 38% said they’d gone a whole day on one meal or no food at all in the last month, because they couldn’t afford to buy enough food.

The Trussell Trust says it now expects increasing numbers of people will rely on food banks, which are already struggling to keep up with demand, unless the government takes immediate action to ensure the social security system provides people with enough support to afford the essentials.

Meanwhile, a new survey on food poverty in schools, due to be published next month by Chefs In Schools, a healthy eating charity that trains chefs for school kitchens, has reported that schools are already seeing a heartbreaking increase in hungry children.

Headteachers have told the charity of children so hungry they are eating rubbers or hiding in the playground because they can’t afford lunch – one even pretended to eat from an empty lunchbox because he didn’t want friends to know there was no food at home. 

People are living on uncooked food – it's like a Dickens novel

After seeking advice from a family member, Sarah has been referred to a local food bank, and while grateful, she doesn’t see it as a long-term solution to the problem. 

“The government needs to take drastic action to help those in dire situations, otherwise I dread to think what will become of my family and others struggling,“ she says.

“I’m trying to remain positive, but I can’t help but worry what the future will look like, and I know I’m not the only one.

“While I’d love to think I’ll never do it again, if I have to choose between my children eating and feeling forced to steal, I know deep down what I’ll have to do.”

However desperate people may feel, experts agree resorting to theft will make things worse – as even if you avoid a jail term, a conviction or caution could remain on your record for a decade, impacting any jobs you go for in the future.

“People who need support can get in touch with their local food bank, who can advise on help available and on how to get a food bank voucher from one of their referral agencies,” says Rachel Macklin, head of South England and Wales at the Trussell Trust.

“Food banks in our network take referrals from local advice agencies, social workers, GPs and other health workers.

“People can also call Help Through Hardship free to talk with a trained Citizens Advice adviser.

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“They can help make sure people are receiving the benefits they are entitled to and accessing services in their area.

“If needed, they are also able to issue a voucher for an emergency food parcel.”  

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