DC-area supermarket chain Giant Foods bans unaccompanied minors after 6 p.m., large bags

A supermarket chain is banning unaccompanied minors from some stores after 6 p.m. and large bags in Washington, D.C., and Maryland, as part of a new policy aimed at curbing rampant retail theft.

Giant Food confirmed to Fox News Digital in a statement Monday that the chain’s revised policy will affect some stores “to mitigate unprecedented levels of product theft” that have made business “unsustainable.”

“Thefts at retail locations in our market area affect everyone,” Giant Foods said in a statement. “They limit product availability, create a less convenient shopping experience and, most seriously, put our associates and customers at risk.”

The chain’s new policy, which took effect Thursday, will affect its seven locations in Washington, D.C., two in Baltimore and three in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

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The measure prohibits under-18s from entering stores without an adult after 6 p.m., and bags larger than 14 inches by 14 inches by 6 inches are banned from most stores. In stores that allow larger bags, customers must consent to having the bag tagged before entering and searched before leaving.

While retail theft remains a glaring problem in cities across the country since the coronavirus pandemic, data from Capital One shows that Washington, D.C., retailers lost $120 million in revenue to theft in 2022, costing the city $7.21 million in retail sales taxes.

Updated policies will affect all Giant Food locations in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/File)

Giant Food said the measures are the latest in a bid to reduce theft and violence in its stores. The chain said previous measures included “limiting self-checkout, increasing security, limiting exits, working with police to increase their presence, locking down items that are highly targeted for theft and banning bags larger than 14″ x 14″ x 6″ in some stores.”

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Even with the addition of these new policies, Giant Foods said they likely still won’t be a silver bullet to curb the rampant thefts seen at its stores.

“None of the tactics we are using are the ultimate solution to the problem we are facing,” the statement said. “However, we continue to invest in efforts to improve the safety of our associates and customers and reduce theft.”

Other methods Giant uses to combat retail theft include limiting self-checkout, increasing security, limiting exits, working with police to increase their presence and locking down highly targeted theft items. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/File)

A spokesperson for the DC Metropolitan Police Department told Fox News Digital that police continue to work to combat issues such as retail theft and are in communication with retailers across the city.

According to publicly available data on the police department’s website, overall crime in Washington, D.C., is down 19 percent year-to-date compared to last year. Violent crime is down 35 percent year-to-date compared to the same period last year, while robberies are down 3 percent during that time.

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The police department does not break down theft statistics into more specific types of theft on its website.