Stop & Shop, the grocery store we all love to hate, claims that they’re actually working on lowering prices. Can you believe it? A customer was spotted rolling their shopping cart out of the South Bay location, probably wondering if they got ripped off or not.
Massachusetts lawmakers, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, as well as Reps. Jim McGovern and Ayanna Pressley, are once again calling out Stop & Shop for charging higher prices in urban areas compared to richer neighborhoods. In a letter sent on Thursday, they asked the CEO of Stop & Shop to give them an update on their promises to make groceries more affordable for Massachusetts residents. Apparently, a recent report showed that not much progress has been made.
This whole drama started back in September 2024 when a group of youngsters from the Hyde Square Task Force found that Stop & Shop was charging a whopping 18% more for the same items in its Jamaica Plain store, which serves a mostly minority and working-class community, compared to its fancier Dedham location. The following year, another study by the same group revealed similar price differences at other Boston Stop & Shop spots like Grove Hall, South Bay, and Mission Hill.
Fast forward to April 2025, and the Hyde Square Task Force went back to the same Stop & Shop locations to see if anything had changed. Turns out, while prices dropped a bit in Jamaica Plain, they were still sky-high in other inner-city areas. It seems like Stop & Shop is still making a killing off of lower-income neighborhoods.
For instance, Stouffer’s Swedish Meatballs cost a whole dollar more in the city than in Dedham. And don’t get me started on the Freschetta Pepperoni Pizza and Hormel Black Label Bacon prices. It’s like they’re trying to squeeze every penny out of hard-working families.
The lawmakers are not impressed. They’re demanding answers from Stop & Shop. Why are they charging more in poorer communities? What’s the deal with this multi-year strategy to lower prices? And why did they shut down seven stores in Massachusetts in the past year?
Stop & Shop fired back, saying they’re totally committed to slashing prices across all their stores in Massachusetts. They claim the work is already in progress and will continue throughout 2025. They’re also hyping up their Stop & Shop Food Pantry Program, which helps thousands of needy students get access to healthy food every month. At least they’re trying to do something right.
With 117 store locations in Massachusetts and over 300 stores in New York, New England, and New Jersey, Stop & Shop sure has a lot on their plate. But are they really putting the needs of the community first, or are they just trying to make a quick buck? Who knows?
Beth Treffeisen, the local news reporter for Boston.com, will probably be keeping a close eye on this story. Maybe we’ll find out what really goes on behind the scenes at Stop & Shop. Or maybe we’ll just keep paying extra for meatballs and bacon. Who’s to say?
