A serial thief stole £30 worth of meat from Co-op after being released from prison with 'no money', a court heard.
Richard Jarvis, aged 49, swiped the items from the Birmingham Road store in Sutton Coldfield at around 10am on April 6.
Jarvis pleaded guilty to theft during a hearing at Birmingham Magistrates Court on Tuesday, May 19.
Prosecuting solicitor, Shajah Javed, said Jarvis had previously been convicted of 39 theft offences and last appeared at court in February.
His defence solicitor, Sarah Rust, revealed that her client tested positive for opioids and cocaine at the police station.
She said: 'He has quite long-standing issues with heroin, he tells me.'
Ms Rust said Jarvis 'didn't have any money to feed himself' and he 'accepts he committed the theft'.
She said upon his release, Jarvis didn't have a 'genuine prescription' regarding methadone, wasn't in receipt of Universal Credit and 'had issues with accommodation'.
'To his credit, since his release from custody, he has got another address and he has sorted out his benefits,' she said, adding that he also sorted out his methadone script.
Deputy district judge, Olwen Davis, acknowledged Jarvis' early guilty plea and gave him credit for it.
'And more importantly,' she said, 'The fact that you're sorting out your problems.'
'I would imagine it was a major problem sorting each one out - three at a time must be really difficult.'
'You look clean and clearly lucid today, the methadone script is clearly working,' said Ms Davis.
Jarvis was handed a 12-month community order and was ordered to carry out 10 days of rehabilitation activity requirement.
