Are food, clothing and shoes scarce? If they are, could ignoring that fact be deadly?

See Dozens killed in stampede at church event in Nigeria: The stamped happened as hundreds of people gathered at the annual ‘Shop for Free’ charity event in Rivers state, a police spokesperson said from Al Jazeera. Excerpts:

"At least 31 people have been killed during a stampede at a church charity event in southern Nigeria’s Port Harcourt city, according to the police.

Hundreds of people who had turned up to receive food at the event early on Saturday broke through a gate, causing the stampede, Grace Iringe-Koko, police spokesperson for Rivers state, of which Port Harcourt is the capital, said.

Many of the people queued from Friday to gain access to the Port Harcourt Polo Club – the venue of the annual “Shop for Free” charity programme organised by the Kings Assembly pentecostal church.

“People were there earlier and some got impatient and started rushing, which led to stampeding. The police are on the ground monitoring the situation while the investigation is ongoing,” Iringe-Koko told Reuters."

"A similar incident also happened in December 2020 after a business organisation tried to give out donations to poor people in Port Harcourt,” Mbah said. “About eight people were killed in that incident."

"Videos from the scene showed the clothing and shoes meant for the beneficiaries scattered on the ground."

"Such events are common in Nigeria"

"Nigeria has seen several stampede tragedies over food distribution in recent years"

Here is the definition of a scarce good I use in my classes:

Scarce-A good or resource is scarce when the amount available is less than the amount people would want if it were given away free of charge. 

 

It is not clear from the article if there was not enough to go around. But people might have feared this and that is why some got in early. The large number of people showing up and the frequency of these incidents also suggest that there is not enough to go around. If it were generally believed that there would be enough for everyone, we probably would not see stampedes or people trying to get in early.

Related posts about problems when thing are given away for free:

 

Florida counties give away vaccine for free and there are long lines

 
Chaos ensues when stuffed bears are given away (almost) free of charge.

Domino's & T-Mobile discover there is no such thing as free pizza. Too many took advantage of offer. They ran out.

What happens if you give electricity away for free? (Tesla post)

Taco Bell Gives Away "Free" Tacos, Problems Arise.

IHOP Gives Away Free Pancakes And Gets Slammed.

There Is No Such Thing As Free Salt (Or Sand) .

Trees Are Scarce In San Antonio!

Free Can Be Deadly. (give aways lead to stampedes)

More Free Give Aways Lead to Trouble. (A shopping mall in California gave away free gift certificates)

Josh Hamilton’s grand slam causes a flooring and countertop shortage  

 

There's no such thing as free cheesecake