The plague of inflation and criminal activity in New York City has caused one store to lock up its Spam.
Inside the Duane Reade drug store at the Port Authority bus depot, the $3.99 cans were spotted sitting in anti-theft boxes, the New York Post reported Saturday.
A photo showed a can of Spam secured inside a plastic anti-theft box, and social media users had a lot to say about the image:
“This has gone too far. Must be stopped,” one person replied, while another said, “When they start locking up the Ramen it’s over for all of us.”
“This country is becoming so sad, we need better leadership, enough is enough!” someone else wrote.
The city’s stores have been locking up items such as toothpaste and soap to prevent them from being stolen, then sold on the streets or online, the Post report said.
One shopper speculated the Spam was not being stolen to later sell for drugs, but because homeless people wanted a quick bite to eat.
Employees claimed thefts at the shop increased in the past couple of years, and one estimated approximately four shoplifting incidents happened each evening.
“I don’t think they stop anything,” a store clerk noted when speaking about the anti-theft boxes. “It’s security theater. If you really needed it, you would stomp on it.”
Also inside the store was a $3.49 can of Celebrity ham that was protected in the same way, according to the Daily Mail. The outlet said it was not a city-wide policy or one implemented by all Duane Reade stores in the area.
In addition, more than four in ten Americans were having to cut back on many things, including the amount of groceries they buy, thanks to Bidenflation, per a recent Suffolk University/USA Today survey.
