Normally we hear about thieves breaking into a house to steal a flat screen TV, or jacking someone’s car.

But, with the economy falling apart and millions out of work, stories like these will become much more common, as TV’s, computers, cell phones and home furnishings start taking a back seat to essential goods like food:

The sign on the side of the road reads, “Home grown veggies for sale,” but thieves apparently ignored the words, “for sale”.

The theft happened over the weekend at a home along Bennetts Bridge Road in the Greer area of Spartanburg County.

The homeowner didn’t want to be identified, but told deputies that someone stole 40 pounds of ripe tomatoes, 20 pounds of lima and butter beans and took all of her cucumbers and squash.

…

She blames the economy for the crimes.

source: MSNBC

The victim is likely right. The fair market value of those vegetables is roughly $150.

Chances are that whoever stole that food is not headed down to the nearest pawn shop to off-load it. They are likely bringing the veggies back to the house for personal consumption.

While we may experience a strong deflationary impact to debt based goods like house prices, chances are that the essentials like energy and food are going to rise significantly in relation to wages. If you’ve been to the grocery store lately and picked up a week’s worth of veggies and fruits, then you can attest to the costs.

It’s not cheap to eat healthy.

Hat tip Roger Mack for sending this one over