Darryl Steven Young, 48, appeared in the Dunedin District Court this week after earlier admitting a charge of burglary.
The court heard the defendant had previously worked at Red Tussock Wild Venison, but finished in February 2023.
On September 29, he used a key to get into the building, and once he was in he disabled the security cameras.
He took 30kg of venison strip loin worth about $960 and carried the boxes of meat back to his nearby house.
Just hours later, Young went back for more, this time stealing items including a butcher’s apron, mince, toilet paper, milk, sugar and a pepper shaker.
He locked the building before carrying the stolen goods home.
A few weeks later, police searched Young’s home and found many of the items.
He told police he committed the crime to save money but claimed he did not remember stealing any meat and did not know where it had ended up.
Counsel Andy Belcher said his client struggled with alcohol abuse, which was the driving factor behind the offending.
Young wrote a letter of apology and told the court he had been working on overcoming his addiction issues.
Judge Hermann Retzlaff said the offending was "persistent" but noted Young was motivated to stay out of the courts and had made efforts to get clean since the crime.
The judge sentenced the defendant to four and a-half months’ community detention and nine months’ supervision.
Young was also ordered to pay $1564 reparation.
