In November, The Whole Foods located at the junction of State Street and Washington Street made the high school aware of a lingering issue concerning accounts of shoplifting carried out by students
Senior class president Emily Zeytoonjian ‘16 made an announcement in the first week of November to the school about the recent shoplifting occurrences at the supermarket down the street from the school.
The biggest problem is reportedly in the recurrence of students eating pre-made food in the Whole Foods downstairs cafeteria without paying for it first.
To avoid encounters with the Wellesley Police, Whole Foods notified the high school about the persistent problem.
“The police came to me, and said to ‘get the word out to the students’ that Whole Foods was upset, and to stop that activity so that no one would have to be charged with shoplifting” said Lynne Novogroski, Bradford housemaster.
In one instance, two students served themselves for the hot bar and ate in the cafeteria without going to the register first. When confronted, the students claimed to be waiting for a parent to drop off money to pay for the food.
Despite these students’ rationale, Whole Foods observed similar behavior by other students who did not have an excuse, indicating a clear problem to them.
“It is just a pity to see kids stealing from such a community oriented place,” said Jared Nast ’16 who works at the supermarket.
Although Whole Foods managers have talked to some students, telling them not to return to Whole Foods because of shoplifting, the business decided to give the student body a chance. They wish to deal with the problem internally to prevent students from having a confrontation with the law.
(Vince Caruso ’16, Opinions Editor)