Drakes reveals Aussies are stealing trolleys full of groceries amid the cost of living crisis

Desperate Aussies are turning to crime to survive, with one supermarket chain reporting thieves are walking out with trolleys full of groceries.

Desperate Aussies are turning to shoplifting to survive, with one supermarket chain reporting thieves are walking out with a trolley full of groceries every day.

Drakes Supermarkets director John-Paul Drake told The Advertiser he was “sick and tired” of people taking whatever they want.

“We see walkouts daily. They will fill up a trolley or a bag and walk out the door,” he said.

“I’ve seen family members coaching children as young as 10 years old about how to steal stuff out of supermarkets.”

He said resorting to crime should not be the answer for people struggling to make ends meet.

“I sympathise with them, but it’s tough for everyone,” he said.

“We’re not a charity, we’re a business, but we give millions of dollars to charities so people in need can actually get help,” he said.

People stealing a trolley full of food from Drakes Foodland in Adelaide. Picture: Drakes

A spokesman for Coles said they had observed an “increase in theft” but described it as an “issue affecting all retailers across Australia and internationally”.

“We are regularly working with police to reduce shoplifting. Coles employs a large team of plainclothes loss prevention officers in our stores nationally who are catching hundreds of thieves every week,” the spokesman said.

Woolworths declined to comment on what news.com.au understands is an industry-wide problem, but did say they had a “number of initiatives that we use, both covert and overt, to help reduce retail crime and keep our team members and customers safe in our stores”.

A spokesman for food charity OzHarvest told news.com.au demand for food relief is at an “highest”.

“Our recent Community Needs Survey, which goes to the charities we deliver food to, showed that 73 per cent have seen an increase in people needing food in the last six months, a third are seeking help for the first time,” the spokesman said.

The spokesman said the majority of charities they support could take double the amount of food to help meet the need.

“There are still so many people going hungry with single parents and families the hardest hit. What we’re seeing now is people on low income jobs who just can’t make ends meet anymore after paying rent/mortgage, bills etc, needing food relief.”

Desperate Aussies are turning to shoplifting to survive. Picture: Drakes

Aussies are continuing to be slugged for soaring grocery prices. Picture: Drakes

Cost of living biting

Aussies are continuing to be slugged for soaring grocery prices, according to a report in May by investment bank UBS.

An analysis of more than 60,000 items at Coles and Woolworths found prices have increased by a whopping 9.6 per cent in April.

Fresh food, in particular, contributed to the huge increase in prices with costs skyrocketing by 9.9 per cent – however UBS predicted this would drop in the coming months as supply levels improved.

Aussies are also facing significant financial pressure because of repeated interest rate hikes.

The Reserve Bank has lifted interest rates at 12 of its past 14 meetings, taking the cash rate from 0.1 per cent in May last year to 4.1 per cent in June in a bid to settle inflation, which peaked at 7.8 per cent in December.

This afternoon, the RBA paused interest rates at its monthly meeting in a move that will be a massive relief for millions of borrowers around the country.

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