By Tyler Schmall // SWNS
New York office - 646-873-7565 / usnews@swns.com
NEWS COPY w/ VIDEO & INFOGRAPHIC
Do you know where your snacks are? Four in ten Americans admit to being food thieves, according to new research.
Americans’ biggest targets are our friends, co-workers and partners, with one in ten even literally taking candy from a child.
In fact, the average American says they have food stolen from them three times a week.
These new statistics emerged from a new study of 2,000 Americans conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Ben & Jerry’s, which found that quite a few of us are currently dealing with a sneaky food thief.
According to the results of the study, the biggest food thieves in our lives are actually our partners.
And while a partner taking your food is easily forgivable, it’s less forgivable if it’s a friend or co-worker, who were found to be the next biggest sneaks.
In fact, nearly half of the country (41 percent) say they’ve dealt with a co-worker stealing food from them before, with 60 percent saying their food gets stolen so often they actually had to confront somebody about it.
How do they respond? While confronting directly is the most popular technique, one-in-three Americans retaliate by stealing food right back, while 35 percent prefer to leave a handwritten note.
Nearly four in ten (38 percent) have had their food stolen out of the common fridge at work, while another one in four (25 percent) say somebody has swiped their meal straight out of the microwave.
So which food of yours should you keep a special eye on? According to the survey, potato chips and ice cream were the most popular targets for thieves at home, with candy rounding out the top three.
At work, chips, fruit, and candy are the biggest targets for thieving coworkers.
“We’ve known for a long time that our chunks and swirls are irresistible,” said Eric Fredette, Flavor Guru at Ben & Jerry’s. “We also know our fans feel very attached to ‘their’ flavor and rarely share. Instead, they like to eat it straight out of the pint, while sitting on the couch. Maybe that’s why our Pint Lock is so popular.”
Food thieving is an epidemic in America, so how are people combatting it? One in three Americans has actually completely stopped bringing lunch to work as a result of the thievery, and another six in ten have resorted to actually hiding their food.
The survey went on to find out some of the most unusual spots Americans have actually hidden their food, and it proved some people will go above and beyond for the sake of their snacks.
One respondent resorted to hiding food in their washing machine, and another said they dug a hole in the snow outside and placed the package of snacks there with a rock so they could find it later.
Other wild responses include a plastic bag in the top of a toilet, inside the oven, and in their own underwear.
“Clearly, people will go to great lengths to keep their favorite food protected from poachers,” said Fredette. “I can’t say I blame them. Who wants to open their favorite pint of Ben & Jerry’s and find all the chunks missing and the ice cream half gone? No one, ever.”
TOP 10 FOODS AMERICANS HAVE HAD STOLEN FROM THEM AT HOME
Chips 40%
Ice cream 40%
Candy 38%
Fruit 35%
Juice 34%
Milk 30%
Bread 30%
Meat 29%
Cereal 26%
Coffee 26%
TOP 10 FOODS AMERICANS HAVE HAD STOLEN FROM THEM AT WORK
Chips 31%
Fruit 28%
Candy 27%
Coffee 26%
Juice 26%
Milk 23%
Bread 22%
Ice cream 20%
Bagged lunch meat 19%
Nuts 17%
10 WILD PLACES AMERICANS HAVE HIDDEN SNACKS
Behind the cleaning supplies
In the washing machine
In a hole in the snow
In the oven
In their underwear
In the toilet
In the sofa
In a tampon box
In a vase
Under the computer
