Like if you steal out of necessity, and get caught once, you then just starve?

I mean… you could try getting on food stamps or whatever sort of government assistance is available in your country for this purpose?

In pretty much all civilized western countries, you don’t HAVE to resort to becoming a criminal simply to get enough food to survive. It’s really more of a sign of antisocial behavior, i.e. a complete rejection of the system combined with a desire to actively cause harm to it.

Or it could be a pride issue, i.e. people not wanting to admit to themselves that they are incapable of taking care of themselves on their own and having to go to a government office in order to “beg” for help (or panhandle outside the supermarket instead).