A Boring Dystopia

I wouldn't recommend this. It's easy to rack up a felony in stolen goods these days with inflation, and they have really good cameras everywhere in stores now. You can also get charges on your friends and family if you shoplift with them present, like "criminal conspiracy" charges. You can face additional charges for having scissors or aluminum foil on you as well, since tools for theft are illegal as well. With the news these days saying people are shoplifting in gangs, there is a big public push to catch people doing this even if it's not accurate.

Further, shoplifting is a skill that is constantly evolving against loss prevention, which is constantly evolving against shoplifters.* You're not "in the know" about these advancements. You're not loss prevention for that specific store. You have no clue what methods are used there. Do you even know which stores have especially tight security, eg Target and Home Depot? Before you go out risking legal action against you that can profoundly affect your life for literally $2k worth of goods? Are you stealing from stores you also frequent, or are you stealing from a large radius of stores in other towns along busy trade routes on rotation every few years? Are you stealing while also making a purchase with a card or check? Are you stealing while parked in their lot? Even people who do everything perfectly get caught. Why do you think you won't? Because it feels easy?

The prison system is like a slave camp. We should help everyone avoid those camps. People can lose their right to vote and the ability to find housing. They often get put into systemic poverty. I get why people feel justified in stealing but it's a trap to incarcerate you and get free slave labor from you. Don't get tricked.

It is a better idea to eat from a food bank if you are food insecure. If anyone genuinely needs help getting food, you can message me and I will try to help you find food. Some food banks even have toiletries. Dollar Tree has basic toiletries like toilet paper and razors for $1.25.