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Mass. lawmakers take Stop & Shop CEO to task after study finds inner-city price gouging
Stop & Shop says work is underway to lower prices.
Massachusetts lawmakers are once again targeting Stop & Shop after a new report found the chain charges higher prices in urban neighborhoods than wealthier areas.
In a letter on Thursday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and Reps. Jim McGovern and Ayanna Pressley asked the CEO of Stop & Shop to update them on its promises to lower grocery prices for Massachusetts residents after a new report showed little progress.
Lawmakers first raised concerns in September 2024, after a report by Boston youth volunteers with the Hyde Square Task Force found that Stop & Shop charged 18% more for 17 identical staple items at its Jamaica Plain store—a predominantly minority, working-class area—than at its Dedham location in a wealthier suburb.
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The following fall, the Hyde Square Task Force produced a second study that analyzed prices at other Boston Stop & Shop locations, such as Grove Hall, South Bay, and Mission Hill, and found comparable price differences to Dedham.
This month, the Hyde Square Task Force returned to the Stop & Shop locations it visited in its early study to determine if prices had changed.
The April 2025 investigation suggests that despite lowering grocery prices in the Jamaica Plain location, Stop & Shop is “still charging higher prices at other inner Boston locations, suggesting that Stop & Shop continues to profit at the expense of lower-income communities.”
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For example, Stouffer’s Swedish Meatballs cost $4.99 in the city, a dollar more than in Dedham. Freschetta Pepperoni Pizza was $8.99 vs. $6.99, and Hormel Black Label Bacon was $8.49 in Boston, compared to $7.99 in Dedham.
“While we are glad that Stop & Shop reduced prices at the Jamaica Plain location…overall, these results are disappointing,” the letter said.
The lawmakers urge Stop & Shop to lower prices at the other inner-city locations to “ensure that it is charging all Massachusetts families fair prices for the food they work hard to put on the table.”
The lawmakers are looking for answers, asking Stop & Shop additional questions, such as:
- Why does it appear that Stop & Shop is charging higher prices for groceries in low-income communities in Massachusetts?
- In response to the September letter, Stop & Shop launched a multi-year strategy to lower everyday prices across all stores. Provide a summary of the project, including which stores and why.
- Stop & Shop closed seven store locations in Massachusetts since last September—what impact did that have on pricing decisions, and why did those close?
In response to the letter, Stop & Shop said it “remains committed to lowering prices across all of our stores in Massachusetts — and that work, which is already underway, will continue throughout 2025.”
Stop & Shop also says it will continue to invest in programs like the Stop & Shop Food Pantry Program, which offers access to healthy food for thousands of students in need every month, including students at more than 20 Boston Public Schools.
Stop & Shop lists 117 store locations in Massachusetts, and it has more than 300 stores throughout New York, New England, and New Jersey.
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