Gone are the days when you could trust your food would still be there when you returned to the fridge.

More and more people report that their groceries and lunches are going missing—and they're turning to padlocks to stop the thieves.

The rising cost of living has left many Australians strapped for cash. With grocery prices skyrocketing, some cash-strapped folks are helping themselves to their housemate's or colleague's food.

While this may seem harmless to the thief, food insecurity is a growing problem.

A mum has been forced to padlock her groceries in $1 Woolworths bags in her fridge to stop her housemates from stealing her food. Credit: Facebook/Women Advice & Banter.

One incident of food theft involved a mum who needed to purchase allergy-safe food for her one-year-old child. However, much of this special food kept disappearing, leading her to suspect one of her housemates as the likely culprit.

Despite her attempts to address the issue by talking to her housemates about the missing food, no one admitted to being responsible for the theft, and the problem persisted.

To address the problem, she came up with a rather unusual idea. She bought four $1 Woolworths bags and four padlocks for $6, totalling $10.

Even better, these bags were designed to be thin enough to maintain the cold temperature of her food, leaving her not to worry about the food going bad.

So, how does she use these to 'safeguard' her groceries? She tied the bag handles tightly and secured them with a padlock at the top. Once locked, the bag couldn't be opened without cutting it open.

'No one can steal the food unless they cut open the bag, which is super obvious, and no one has done it yet,' she said.

Since adopting her strategy with the lockable bags, the mum reported she had not experienced any further incidents of stolen or missing food. She decided to share this tip on social media, and it quickly gained traction.

Many people were enthusiastic about trying it, with one user commenting, 'That's great! And they can't see what you have in there to tempt them as well.'

Another person empathised, saying, 'Great idea! It sucks that you had to do this, though.'

​

Surprisingly, the mother wasn't the only one facing this issue of disappearing groceries.

Another person shared she also had to take drastic measures to protect her lunch. She started using a $12 lunch bag from Kmart and a $5 lock to safeguard her food from her colleagues.

The widespread need for such measures surprised many on social media, highlighting the extent to which people were resorting to prevent food theft.

Some even shared stories of experiencing lunch theft, particularly in communal fridges.

'I had to get a lock for my daughter's bag as she kept having her lunch stolen at school. It fixed the problem,' one mum shared.

Another commented: 'We watch a very highly paid person (earns double what we earn) in our office help themselves to other people's lunches…'

Key Takeaways

• Aussies are padlocking their groceries to prevent theft by housemates or work colleagues.
• Several people have come up with unique solutions, including storing groceries in padlocked and cool bags.
• Despite confronting housemates or coworkers about the issue, the thefts in many cases have continued.
• Many social media users supported the measures despite acknowledging the disappointment of resorting to such lengths to prevent theft.

Food theft is undoubtedly frustrating, but it's certainly a worrying trend and a sign of the times.

Members, have you ever had the unfortunate experience of dealing with food or grocery theft before? If so, how did you handle the situation?

Please share your experiences with us in the comments below; we'd love to hear your stories and any advice you might have for others who may find themselves in a similar situation.

 

[Suzanne rose]

My sons would use my daughters stuff so having 3 fridges I gave them my garage fridge and said they have a shelf each and anything that is in my kitchen fridge is for everyone.

When one of my kids was at school one if the other kids never had lunch, their parents would never pack lunch and that child never took another's lunch.
What I did was sent an extra lunch so my child could give it to them.

As for work colleges or house mates taking food is not acceptable and is theft.

As for kids in school taking others lunches thus is actually a concern that maybe they are not being fed

 

[Marilyn cd]

Gone are the days when you could trust your food would still be there when you returned to the fridge.

More and more people report that their groceries and lunches are going missing—and they're turning to padlocks to stop the thieves.

The rising cost of living has left many Australians strapped for cash. With grocery prices skyrocketing, some cash-strapped folks are helping themselves to their housemate's or colleague's food.

While this may seem harmless to the thief, food insecurity is a growing problem.

View attachment 32464

A mum has been forced to padlock her groceries in $1 Woolworths bags in her fridge to stop her housemates from stealing her food. Credit: Facebook/Women Advice & Banter.

One incident of food theft involved a mum who needed to purchase allergy-safe food for her one-year-old child. However, much of this special food kept disappearing, leading her to suspect one of her housemates as the likely culprit.

Despite her attempts to address the issue by talking to her housemates about the missing food, no one admitted to being responsible for the theft, and the problem persisted.

To address the problem, she came up with a rather unusual idea. She bought four $1 Woolworths bags and four padlocks for $6, totalling $10.

Even better, these bags were designed to be thin enough to maintain the cold temperature of her food, leaving her not to worry about the food going bad.

So, how does she use these to 'safeguard' her groceries? She tied the bag handles tightly and secured them with a padlock at the top. Once locked, the bag couldn't be opened without cutting it open.

'No one can steal the food unless they cut open the bag, which is super obvious, and no one has done it yet,' she said.

Since adopting her strategy with the lockable bags, the mum reported she had not experienced any further incidents of stolen or missing food. She decided to share this tip on social media, and it quickly gained traction.

Many people were enthusiastic about trying it, with one user commenting, 'That's great! And they can't see what you have in there to tempt them as well.'

Another person empathised, saying, 'Great idea! It sucks that you had to do this, though.'

View attachment 32549​

Surprisingly, the mother wasn't the only one facing this issue of disappearing groceries.

Another person shared she also had to take drastic measures to protect her lunch. She started using a $12 lunch bag from Kmart and a $5 lock to safeguard her food from her colleagues.

The widespread need for such measures surprised many on social media, highlighting the extent to which people were resorting to prevent food theft.

Some even shared stories of experiencing lunch theft, particularly in communal fridges.

'I had to get a lock for my daughter's bag as she kept having her lunch stolen at school. It fixed the problem,' one mum shared.

Another commented: 'We watch a very highly paid person (earns double what we earn) in our office help themselves to other people's lunches…'

Key Takeaways

• Aussies are padlocking their groceries to prevent theft by housemates or work colleagues.
• Several people have come up with unique solutions, including storing groceries in padlocked and cool bags.
• Despite confronting housemates or coworkers about the issue, the thefts in many cases have continued.
• Many social media users supported the measures despite acknowledging the disappointment of resorting to such lengths to prevent theft.

Food theft is undoubtedly frustrating, but it's certainly a worrying trend and a sign of the times.

Members, have you ever had the unfortunate experience of dealing with food or grocery theft before? If so, how did you handle the situation?

Please share your experiences with us in the comments below; we'd love to hear your stories and any advice you might have for others who may find themselves in a similar situation.

A thief emptied the entire contents of our fridge & freezer which stands in our open carport, even taking the banana bag! The freezer blocks were even taken 2 keep the icecrams cold. Therefore, every evening, we drive my car right up close to the fridge. In the morning, we drive the car far enough back so we can open the fridge doors. Nothing has been stolen since. However, we have had other thefts. A fold up table which was in its carry bag was also taken from our outside store room which runs along the side of our carport. So now we have to lock the store & we park my car close to that wall so no thief can squeeze in to break the lock.
I bought a large metal rack to carry plants to my garden club meeting & that got stolen! I suppose the thief used it 2 carry other stuff he had stolen from neighbours!

 

[Veggiepatch]

Nothing that a Stanley knife can't fix. What a stupid idea.

I suppose the same person spent 1000s of dollars on a high end car alarm then leaves the windows down. Doh!

 

[magpie1]

Hard to believe people stoop that low.
Reminds me of many years ago, going to a BYO alcohol party.
Not liking beer, I took a bottle of spirits. After my first drink, went to make a second and the bottle was empty. Who does that??? Scum.

This type of thing was pretty common at BYO parties.....it got to the stage that we would ask the host if we could hide our spirits in a kitchen cupboard.......that worked well, and we never had the lousy 'users' and 'abusers' getting to our Spirits again.

 

[saundy]

A workplace foreman used to do that to an apprentice, he got his mun to make a chocolate cake with icing made from Laxetes. Problem solved.

What a fantastic idea very well done, I would say problem solved

 

[Tipsy]

Gone are the days when you could trust your food would still be there when you returned to the fridge.

More and more people report that their groceries and lunches are going missing—and they're turning to padlocks to stop the thieves.

The rising cost of living has left many Australians strapped for cash. With grocery prices skyrocketing, some cash-strapped folks are helping themselves to their housemate's or colleague's food.

While this may seem harmless to the thief, food insecurity is a growing problem.

View attachment 32464

A mum has been forced to padlock her groceries in $1 Woolworths bags in her fridge to stop her housemates from stealing her food. Credit: Facebook/Women Advice & Banter.

One incident of food theft involved a mum who needed to purchase allergy-safe food for her one-year-old child. However, much of this special food kept disappearing, leading her to suspect one of her housemates as the likely culprit.

Despite her attempts to address the issue by talking to her housemates about the missing food, no one admitted to being responsible for the theft, and the problem persisted.

To address the problem, she came up with a rather unusual idea. She bought four $1 Woolworths bags and four padlocks for $6, totalling $10.

Even better, these bags were designed to be thin enough to maintain the cold temperature of her food, leaving her not to worry about the food going bad.

So, how does she use these to 'safeguard' her groceries? She tied the bag handles tightly and secured them with a padlock at the top. Once locked, the bag couldn't be opened without cutting it open.

'No one can steal the food unless they cut open the bag, which is super obvious, and no one has done it yet,' she said.

Since adopting her strategy with the lockable bags, the mum reported she had not experienced any further incidents of stolen or missing food. She decided to share this tip on social media, and it quickly gained traction.

Many people were enthusiastic about trying it, with one user commenting, 'That's great! And they can't see what you have in there to tempt them as well.'

Another person empathised, saying, 'Great idea! It sucks that you had to do this, though.'

View attachment 32549​

Surprisingly, the mother wasn't the only one facing this issue of disappearing groceries.

Another person shared she also had to take drastic measures to protect her lunch. She started using a $12 lunch bag from Kmart and a $5 lock to safeguard her food from her colleagues.

The widespread need for such measures surprised many on social media, highlighting the extent to which people were resorting to prevent food theft.

Some even shared stories of experiencing lunch theft, particularly in communal fridges.

'I had to get a lock for my daughter's bag as she kept having her lunch stolen at school. It fixed the problem,' one mum shared.

Another commented: 'We watch a very highly paid person (earns double what we earn) in our office help themselves to other people's lunches…'

Key Takeaways

• Aussies are padlocking their groceries to prevent theft by housemates or work colleagues.
• Several people have come up with unique solutions, including storing groceries in padlocked and cool bags.
• Despite confronting housemates or coworkers about the issue, the thefts in many cases have continued.
• Many social media users supported the measures despite acknowledging the disappointment of resorting to such lengths to prevent theft.

Food theft is undoubtedly frustrating, but it's certainly a worrying trend and a sign of the times.

Members, have you ever had the unfortunate experience of dealing with food or grocery theft before? If so, how did you handle the situation?

Please share your experiences with us in the comments below; we'd love to hear your stories and any advice you might have for others who may find themselves in a similar situation.

If one is having this sort of thing happening in a shared household then I suggest that you secure all your belongings in some way and also inscribe them with your name etc, because if some one is stealing the food it means they are dishonest and will at some stage in their lives begin to pilfer other stuff if they have not already started....

 

[IAN3005]

Gone are the days when you could trust your food would still be there when you returned to the fridge.

More and more people report that their groceries and lunches are going missing—and they're turning to padlocks to stop the thieves.

The rising cost of living has left many Australians strapped for cash. With grocery prices skyrocketing, some cash-strapped folks are helping themselves to their housemate's or colleague's food.

While this may seem harmless to the thief, food insecurity is a growing problem.

View attachment 32464

A mum has been forced to padlock her groceries in $1 Woolworths bags in her fridge to stop her housemates from stealing her food. Credit: Facebook/Women Advice & Banter.

One incident of food theft involved a mum who needed to purchase allergy-safe food for her one-year-old child. However, much of this special food kept disappearing, leading her to suspect one of her housemates as the likely culprit.

Despite her attempts to address the issue by talking to her housemates about the missing food, no one admitted to being responsible for the theft, and the problem persisted.

To address the problem, she came up with a rather unusual idea. She bought four $1 Woolworths bags and four padlocks for $6, totalling $10.

Even better, these bags were designed to be thin enough to maintain the cold temperature of her food, leaving her not to worry about the food going bad.

So, how does she use these to 'safeguard' her groceries? She tied the bag handles tightly and secured them with a padlock at the top. Once locked, the bag couldn't be opened without cutting it open.

'No one can steal the food unless they cut open the bag, which is super obvious, and no one has done it yet,' she said.

Since adopting her strategy with the lockable bags, the mum reported she had not experienced any further incidents of stolen or missing food. She decided to share this tip on social media, and it quickly gained traction.

Many people were enthusiastic about trying it, with one user commenting, 'That's great! And they can't see what you have in there to tempt them as well.'

Another person empathised, saying, 'Great idea! It sucks that you had to do this, though.'

View attachment 32549​

Surprisingly, the mother wasn't the only one facing this issue of disappearing groceries.

Another person shared she also had to take drastic measures to protect her lunch. She started using a $12 lunch bag from Kmart and a $5 lock to safeguard her food from her colleagues.

The widespread need for such measures surprised many on social media, highlighting the extent to which people were resorting to prevent food theft.

Some even shared stories of experiencing lunch theft, particularly in communal fridges.

'I had to get a lock for my daughter's bag as she kept having her lunch stolen at school. It fixed the problem,' one mum shared.

Another commented: 'We watch a very highly paid person (earns double what we earn) in our office help themselves to other people's lunches…'

Key Takeaways

• Aussies are padlocking their groceries to prevent theft by housemates or work colleagues.
• Several people have come up with unique solutions, including storing groceries in padlocked and cool bags.
• Despite confronting housemates or coworkers about the issue, the thefts in many cases have continued.
• Many social media users supported the measures despite acknowledging the disappointment of resorting to such lengths to prevent theft.

Food theft is undoubtedly frustrating, but it's certainly a worrying trend and a sign of the times.

Members, have you ever had the unfortunate experience of dealing with food or grocery theft before? If so, how did you handle the situation?

Please share your experiences with us in the comments below; we'd love to hear your stories and any advice you might have for others who may find themselves in a similar situation.

I have three fridges for myself and two for the tenants. Keep their stuff separate.
Back in Africa fridges came with a lock.

 

[PepeLePew]

I have been locking my kitchen doors up for years, first to stop a child who was extremely greedy and would consume anything & everything it could lay its hands on including frozen meat pies etc in the middle of the night and now from a grandchildren who do the same thing as they are allowed to help themselves to whatever they want at home without any limitations. I just don't have the kind of money required to replace a fortnight's worth of food that is devoured within a few days.

 

[Ezzy]

This happened to me constantly with my milk. I fixed the problem by pissing in my milk. PROBLEM SOLVED IMMEDIATELY.

Reminds me of the bloke in the pub who had to go to the toilet, couldn't finish his drink first so left a note under his glass reading, 'l spat in this' to deter people drinking this for him. When he returned someone had written underneath, 'So did l'. Bugger!

 

[Julia TH]

When my son was about 8 he'd polish off a family pack of biscuits in one sitting so I bought a large preserving jar and put the biscuits in it, then padlocked it. The family's biscuits never disappeared again and he found out he had to share

 

[havingadoggyday]

Only problem in my house is the mysterious disappearance of ice cream.
I think the fridge Ninjas have invaded because my hubby's puppy dog eyes can be nothing but completely trustworthy.

Never trust your husband's puppy dog eyes.Only trust your PUPPY DOG

 

[havingadoggyday]

This type of THEFT was unacceptable years ago & still is today. A mean & low thing to do to any person @ anytime. Removing a person's lunch from the fridge means the owner starves.

Yep but the thief doesn't give a crap does he/she/we/us.......

 

[havingadoggyday]

If one is having this sort of thing happening in a shared household then I suggest that you secure all your belongings in some way and also inscribe them with your name etc, because if some one is stealing the food it means they are dishonest and will at some stage in their lives begin to pilfer other stuff if they have not already started....

You need to move.Who wants to live in a house were you can't trust anybody??!Puppy dogs excluded

 

[MariaG]

Yep but the thief doesn't give a crap does he/she/we/us.......

Mind you, if he keeps doing the deed, he might well be on the loo doing just that.

 

[Rujam]

Gone are the days when you could trust your food would still be there when you returned to the fridge.

More and more people report that their groceries and lunches are going missing—and they're turning to padlocks to stop the thieves.

The rising cost of living has left many Australians strapped for cash. With grocery prices skyrocketing, some cash-strapped folks are helping themselves to their housemate's or colleague's food.

While this may seem harmless to the thief, food insecurity is a growing problem.

View attachment 32464

A mum has been forced to padlock her groceries in $1 Woolworths bags in her fridge to stop her housemates from stealing her food. Credit: Facebook/Women Advice & Banter.

One incident of food theft involved a mum who needed to purchase allergy-safe food for her one-year-old child. However, much of this special food kept disappearing, leading her to suspect one of her housemates as the likely culprit.

Despite her attempts to address the issue by talking to her housemates about the missing food, no one admitted to being responsible for the theft, and the problem persisted.

To address the problem, she came up with a rather unusual idea. She bought four $1 Woolworths bags and four padlocks for $6, totalling $10.

Even better, these bags were designed to be thin enough to maintain the cold temperature of her food, leaving her not to worry about the food going bad.

So, how does she use these to 'safeguard' her groceries? She tied the bag handles tightly and secured them with a padlock at the top. Once locked, the bag couldn't be opened without cutting it open.

'No one can steal the food unless they cut open the bag, which is super obvious, and no one has done it yet,' she said.

Since adopting her strategy with the lockable bags, the mum reported she had not experienced any further incidents of stolen or missing food. She decided to share this tip on social media, and it quickly gained traction.

Many people were enthusiastic about trying it, with one user commenting, 'That's great! And they can't see what you have in there to tempt them as well.'

Another person empathised, saying, 'Great idea! It sucks that you had to do this, though.'

View attachment 32549​

Surprisingly, the mother wasn't the only one facing this issue of disappearing groceries.

Another person shared she also had to take drastic measures to protect her lunch. She started using a $12 lunch bag from Kmart and a $5 lock to safeguard her food from her colleagues.

The widespread need for such measures surprised many on social media, highlighting the extent to which people were resorting to prevent food theft.

Some even shared stories of experiencing lunch theft, particularly in communal fridges.

'I had to get a lock for my daughter's bag as she kept having her lunch stolen at school. It fixed the problem,' one mum shared.

Another commented: 'We watch a very highly paid person (earns double what we earn) in our office help themselves to other people's lunches…'

Key Takeaways

• Aussies are padlocking their groceries to prevent theft by housemates or work colleagues.
• Several people have come up with unique solutions, including storing groceries in padlocked and cool bags.
• Despite confronting housemates or coworkers about the issue, the thefts in many cases have continued.
• Many social media users supported the measures despite acknowledging the disappointment of resorting to such lengths to prevent theft.

Food theft is undoubtedly frustrating, but it's certainly a worrying trend and a sign of the times.

Members, have you ever had the unfortunate experience of dealing with food or grocery theft before? If so, how did you handle the situation?

Please share your experiences with us in the comments below; we'd love to hear your stories and any advice you might have for others who may find themselves in a similar situation.

When I worked for a government firm, I would leave my lunch and milk in the fridge and my mug and coffee in the cupboard. I was fed up getting my milk used so I stuck a big note on it saying "This is my milk, buy your own". One day, shortly after my husband died, my coffee and mug disappeared. I was so upset that my supervisor bought me a new mug and coffee which was very good of her but unfortunately, we never found the person responsible.

 

[deni67]

I remember when I was in hospital about 10 years ago having an operation on my shoulder, my partner brought me in a large tub of Cold Rock icecream, my ultimate favourite food lol.
Unfortunatly he brought it in when i'd just come back from the recovery ward so I was too out of it to eat so he put it in the patient lounge's freezer.
The next day he went to get it out and there was a huge spoonful taken, no one would own up to it, neither staff nor patients so I lived with it.
But if someone had come to me and asked for a bite I would have shared it with them lol