It’s the nation’s crises in a can.
Inflation and crime have gotten so bad in Gotham that even cheap meat like spam has to be locked up.
At Duane Reade’s store at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the nonperishable product—just $3.99 a can—is now stored in anti-theft plastic cases.
“I’ve never seen that before!” a cashier laughed as he used a magnet to pull a can of spam out of his cage.
The cashier was among the store’s employees, tourists and regulars surprised that the iconic blue and yellow cans are now kept under lock and key, some even deriding the sight as “some kind of homage to Jeff Koons.” for a viral tweet.
Jenny Kenny, 43, visiting from Louisville, KY, was aware of the ongoing crime waves hitting cities like New York and San Francisco, but still couldn’t believe the sight of “so much stuff in boxes” .
“Some of this stuff is pretty ridiculous,” he said.
As prices and crime skyrocket, New York City stores have turned to locking up staples like toothpaste and soap to prevent thieves from stealing and then selling the goods on the sidewalk or online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay.
However, some shoppers were confused why Spam, along with $1.89 cans of StarKist tuna, were encased in plastic, while more expensive foods like $5.49 cans of Amy’s Soup were free.
“Putting spam in a cage is stupid and a bit insulting to the customers who would buy it,” said buyer Dennis Snow, 46.
Snow said he doesn’t think the spam is being stolen to “sell it for crack,” but rather because homeless people in the area are looking for a quick and easy meal.
“Someone is stealing this because they need it,” agreed Delia Kemph, a 28-year-old teacher.
Store employees said thefts have increased in the last two years and it is estimated that there are at least four thieves on each night shift.
“I don’t think they stop anything,” Iggy, 21, a store clerk, said of the burglary cases. “It is a security theater. If you really needed it, you would trample on it.”
The clerk’s complaints were prescient: Around 7 p.m. Thursday, a man in a black tank top and gray sweatpants asked an employee to open the glass case for a $38 electric razor, then bolted. with the device past a yellow-shirted security guard and out the door.
With inflation out of control (the consumer price index rose 9.1 percent in June compared to a year earlier, even as President Biden this week refused to acknowledge that the nation is in a recession despite the economy contracted two quarters in a row), emboldened thieves have found a ready market for discounted stolen goods among recession-weary consumers.
Petty Theft Complaints for the NYPD Midtown South Precinct, which includes the Port Authority Bus Terminal, have shot 52 percent, to 1,771, as of July 24, compared to the same period last year.
Hormel CEO Jim Snee told analysts last month that prices for its legacy product would increase in late July to cover higher transportation, packaging and meat costs.
A spokeswoman for Walgreens, which owns Duane Reade, declined to say why Spam was blocked at this particular location and that the installation of anti-theft devices is being done “in response to data theft.”
Liz Tawfik, 57, a home health aide, complained that the added security measures are hampering the once-smooth shopping experience and upsetting customers like her.
“If you’re going to catch a train, you want to grab something fast, it’s not fast anymore,” he said. “It’s better if someone takes his order at the door and brings him what he wants.”
Not all pharmacies have blocked spam.
Two other Duane Reades and CVS in the Times Square area, along with Rite Aid and CVS in Central Harlem, sold their cans of Spam, cage-free.
Dariel Cepin, 23, a Duane Reade employee on West 44th Street, said, “We lock up the ice cream here.”