I'd bet that people who are stealing food probably aren't stealing it to resell. That will be going to fill hungry stomachs. Little, if any, money will change hands.

People stealing things not directly associated with food, sure, that's more likely to be for money.

And either way it's going to be hard to make enough money doing that unless, as you say, you do so in bulk. Basically become an organised criminal.

But, if you're capable of becoming an organised criminal, you probably wouldn't have got to the stage of being a shoplifter in the first place because that sort of ability ought to have got you a legitimate job long before you decided to steal that loaf of wholemeal multigrain.

(This is oversimplified of course. Many people with legitimate jobs have found themselves still not earning enough.)

There's been a shortage of baby milk powder lately and people can get quite a bit if they steal it, like £20 a can plus, especially for the specialist ones like lactose free. I know there's people living on just grabbing it when it comes into the shops and selling it on once it's sold out. I'm sure shoplifting it is even more profitable.

I guess you can shoplift more expensive items than just food