Many people around the world are affected by inflation. With rising fuel and food expenses, as well as a dearth of job opportunities, it’s no surprise that many are turning to alternative means of sustaining their families. At a supermarket store, an Italian grandmother was caught shoplifting food. As the shop owner discovered the motive for the theft, he became sympathetic to her plight.

Shoplifting to help your family
An elderly widow in Italy’s Via Casilini has been struggling financially. She was well-known in the neighborhood and frequented this particular grocery store. She strolled into the business one day, which had around 10 customers and five employees.

When she got inside, she walked straight to the bakery and asked for half a loaf of bread. She then went to the deli and requested some mortadella. This is a type of luncheon meat made from heat-cured sliced or ground pig. She then began to wander around, wandering up and down the aisles and inspecting the products for sale. She chose a can of tuna from the canned foods aisle.

People would normally stroll over to the teller or self-service desks and pay for the items in their baskets. Yet this granny discovered she didn’t have enough bread, let alone mortadella and tuna. Desperation set in, and she realized she needed to feed her grandchildren in some way. So she looked around to see if anyone was looking and then placed the times in her huge purse. She was never a shoplifter, but this was terrible on her family.

People become desperate as a result of poverty.
The grandmother took a few big breaths to prepare herself before walking to the exit. However, alas, she was halted by security at the door, and her heart plummeted. The man told her she had to empty her purse or they would contact the cops. The grandmother was initially hesitant to open her suitcase, but she soon understood it was futile. She showed the security officer the unpaid products and pleaded him not to contact the cops. “Please don’t tell the cops,” she begged. “I don’t want my grandchildren to know about their grandmother’s thievery.”

The grandma who had been shoplifting broke down and told the security guard her story. She was 82 years old and the mother of four children. Ordinarily, they would have supported her, but none of them were in a position to do so. She also has eight grandkids, all of whom are starving. She was retired and lived on a monthly pension of a few hundred euros. This was barely enough to cover her expenses, let alone support her family. Francesco Sciucco, the store manager, was alerted of the issue and phoned the police without knowing her narrative.

Feelings for shoplifters
When Francesco arrived, he noticed the shoplifting grandmother and knew she was his mother. He then reversed his previous decision and called the police to inform them of the false alarm. “I believed she might be my mum,” Francesco explained. “I called 112 again and told them everything was great.”

The manager then astonished the grandmother by handing her everything she was attempting to steal. “I then resolved to return what she had taken,” he explained. “I don’t feel like a hero, and I don’t like playing one, because I’ve always worked with sacrifice and honesty, and I try to help others when I can.”