People are stealing food

because they cannot afford to buy it. This is according to a senior police officer. 

I wonder about this. Yes, I know there are many people who are struggling to pay their mortgage and other bills right now. I know there are people who have had illness in the family and desperately need some extra money. There are people who don't want to go to the Food Bank or seek any other form of charity too. 

Some of them have taken on more debt than they can service and they need advice and help. Many of them are sensible enough to seek that advice and help. 

I was told about a mother who was caught stealing cheap bread from her local supermarket. Her children were hungry. She had no money. The person who dealt with the situation is someone I know well. She is also a single (widowed) mother on a limited income. Unlike the other woman she is coping well. It is hard work but she knows how to handle the situation.

The woman I know had contacted me because she wanted to get in touch with someone else we both know. This next person has been trying to run cookery classes for people who are struggling to feed their families. 

I say "trying" because, try as she might, she is running into problems. Too many people are apparently finding the idea of cooking too complicated. Even when there are no more than three or four ingredients and minimal steps they are finding it too complicated. It is faster and easier to put Vegemite or jam on a piece of bread. Even boiling an egg seems to be a problem for some. The "don't have time" and it is "too expensive" to do anything else. It is easier to try and get away with stealing cheap bread from the supermarket.

Trying to teach children about food and nutrition in school and then having them go home to bread and jam is not going to work well. I had no answers to the problems being raised. I am just incredibly fortunate that my mother knew how to feed four children, her partner and herself on a very small income. I am even more fortunate that my paternal grandmother taught me how to cook. Yes, it takes a little time but I can eat well on my limited budget. I feel sorry for the woman who felt she was reduced to stealing cheap bread. She could have so much more in her life if she had been taught the basics of cookery by someone who loved her.