Most of us have stolen food at one time or another. Maybe it was a Snickers bar from your neighbor's house when you were a kid. Maybe it was bubble gum from the school's candy jar. Or maybe it was the counter-intuitive lollipop at your dentist's office (scratch that, they're free). But in New Zealand, one man took stealing to a new low by acting as a fake mourner at not one, not two, not three, but FOUR funerals per week just to stock up on food. The man even brought his own tupperware containers to take home.

New Zealand newspaper, The Dominion Post, reports that Harbour City Funeral Home director, Danny Langstraat, said the so-called grim eater “appeared at up to four funerals a week in March and April to enjoy the finger food but clearly did not know the deceased.” The funeral company's suspicions grew so strong that it took a photograph of the man and distributed it to the various branches.

“Certainly he had a backpack with some tupperware containers so when people weren't looking, he was stocking up,” Mr Langstraat said. He also said the man was “always very quiet and polite, and did as the rest of the mourners did in paying his respects”. Finally, the finger food thievery subsided when the man was taken aside by a funeral home staff member who informed him that “he could come to funerals but could not take food home with him.”

Christie Bishop can also be found blogging at PardonMyCrumbs.com.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.