Desperate South Australians are stealing meal deliveries to survive as the cost-of-living crisis hits

South Aussies are reporting a sharp rise in meal box and grocery home deliveries being stolen from their front doors as cost-of-living pressures bite.

Meals and groceries delivered to front doors throughout Adelaide are being stolen as cost-of-living pressures bite.

And agencies say the problem will only worsen as people reach “financial breaking point”.

The extent of the doorstep deliveries thefts has been highlighted on social media.

Reddit user Selttan started a thread reporting their last two HelloFresh meal deliveries had been stolen, one within ten minutes of delivery.

Immediately, other users chimed in with their own grievances.

“I’m in the inner-north and we have had our Marley Spoon (meal box) taken twice in a year, most recently was 3 weeks ago,” wrote miss_domy.

Another user suggested cost of living was to blame.

“I don’t condone it, but I’m not surprised with the cost of food these days,” they said.

Reddit users report their HelloFresh deliveries are being stolen. Picture: Supplied

Research from consumer group Finder found one in five Australians had a parcel stolen in the last financial year, amounting to a whopping $540 million in goods.

In October, it also found 2.4 million Australians confessed to having stolen goods due to reaching a “financial breaking point”.

Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union spokesperson for income support Catherine Caine said she was knew of people who had stolen parcels because of financial pressure.

“Supermarkets, banks, landlords, and other essential services are all making record profits,” Ms Caine said.

“Those profits come from us, and when people are being squeezed across every single category there is simply not enough money left to feed our kids. Parcel theft is a predictable outcome.

“It doesn’t feel good to need to steal parcels to survive. It isn’t safe or easy. But what other option exists?

“As a nation we should be ashamed that our systems have failed so badly that charity cannot hope to fill the gaps.”

South Australian Council of Social Services chief executive Ross Womersley said he heard similar stories from people in poverty.

“We certainly hear people saying things are very, very difficult and ‘Sometimes I have no option and I’m very worried’,” Mr Womersley said.

“Because now we have meal delivery services that are much more part of the community, it isn’t the same position as being in a supermarket and the same levels of scrutiny, so people might think that’s a bit less risky.

“That doesn’t make it right, but if people are so desperate they resort to doing that, it speaks to our failure as a community that people aren’t getting the levels of income support they need.

SACOSS chief executive Ross Womersley. Picture: Tait Schmaal.

“If someone is in a circumstance where a food delivery has been stolen, they should be assured whoever did it was feeling so desperate and miserable they felt they had no other choice.”

The Advertiser contacted HelloFresh and Marley Spoon to ask how often customers reported meal delivery thefts.

HelloFresh declined to comment while Marley Spoon did not respond by deadline.

A spokeswoman for supermarket giant Coles, which has recently taken measures to combat in-store theft, said customers who have experienced a theft “should immediately contact police”.

“While deliveries can be made without someone being at home, we recommend customers advising our team in the ‘notes’ section of their online order of a safe place to leave their order (for example, behind the pot plant or basket on the front porch), or even better, arranging to be home at or at least around the time of delivery so that groceries aren’t left outside for too long and avoid opportunistic thieves.”

Originally published as Desperate South Australians are stealing meal deliveries to survive as the cost-of-living crisis hits