Stealing - please help

I am looking for some advice. I have recently made some bad decisions and gotten myself in a bit of trouble. I had a part time job at a superstore, I would go on my breaks and not pay for the food i was eating, every once and a while when I needed something small like shampoo or a small food item I would take it without paying for it. I recently got fired and was given a court date for December 7th. I was told by the officer as well as my boss that they really believe that this will not go criminally and that i will be punished through other means.

As I am 19 years old i have not told any adult and had planned to keep this to myself. I have never gotten in any other form of trouble in my life. I made a mistake that i am certain will never happen again. Right now i am really concerned as to what I should do. They asked me if i wanted to call a lawyer and I said no...was that the right decision? I am headed on an internation internship to Africa in May and I am concerned that I may get put on probation? I'm not sure what sorts of punishment i can be given as this is my first offence.

Any advice you could give me would be helpful.

I forgot to mention i am a resident of New Brunwick, Canada