Stealing money from tip jars

There is an article that has been cruising around the past couple days. A man went into a coffee shop in Manhattan and stole money from the tip jar when the Barista wasn't looking. As a former Barista, this is a very upsetting matter. Tips that we make in that tip jar is basically half of our pay so we always rely on that. The Barista was there by himself at 8 o'clock at night, finishing his shift, and this stranger that ordered a cappuccino (which he could not pay for) went and stole all his hard working tips. 

The coffee shop decided to not call the police and hold a food drive for the thief, according to the Huffington Post. They think that if this man has to resort to stealing from them, that this guy must be pretty down and out. I'm guessing they are doing this so that the man will come forward and they can actually catch this thief, but maybe they just actually want to help this guy out. If he does not come forward then they are going to donate all of the food to a local food drive. 

Every person has their own reasons for stealing and unfortunately it happens all the time. Sometimes it could be so that somebody can support their family, but I personally still do not think that is an excuse to break the law and put your family in potential danger. 

I want to know other peoples opinions on this subject. 
Do you think this man deserves all of this food that people are willing to give him or do you think he needs to be caught and arrested?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/coffee-shop-helps-thief_n_4392449.html

http://nypost.com/2014/07/29/latte-cash-thief-rips-off-coffee-house-tip-jar/

Who would want to steal from us though? We always come up with the best tip jars :-)