Midwest superstore chain Meijer is dealing with potential boycotts and a public relations storm after a viral video confirmed police arresting a younger deli employee accused of stealing meals. The worker allegedly took fruit cups and hen totaling $110 over a number of months.

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According to studies and social media movies, the younger deli employee (whose age has been reported as each 16 and 19) stole fruit cups and hen for months, and as an alternative of telling him to cease, the supervisor waited till the thefts totaled sufficient to justify calling the cops

The story, now resurfacing for the third time this yr, has fueled widespread outrage on-line, with many vowing to cease procuring on the Midwest grocery chain. Many of the small print included in individuals’s accounts of the story, nonetheless, stay unconfirmed.

An arrest that retains going viral

The arrest of the teenager, recognized as James Danison by a GoFundMe marketing campaign, occurred a number of months in the past at the very least. Body cam footage of the arrest first appeared on the TikTok account @p90t93, which routinely posts police arrest movies for its 43,000 followers.

@p90t93 Teen Arrested For Stealing Lunches At Work #cops #copsoftiktok #teen ♬ authentic sound – POLICE CAPTAIN

The video of the teenager, posted on March 21, 2025, exhibits the police arriving in a Meijer again workplace to arrest him. An older individual, presumably the supervisor, accuses him of stealing fruit cups and hen totaling $110 earlier than the police cuff the employee and skim him his rights. This video now has 8.7 million views.

In a second video, the teenager claims that he began taking the meals when he forgot his pockets at dwelling and meant to pay the shop later, however forgot. He then mentions that when he did attempt to pay for meals on breaks, his managers complained that he was taking too lengthy and threatened to put in writing him up.

On April 16, X person @TaraBull808 reposted the primary TikTok video of the teenager’s arrest, garnering six million views. This put up alleged that the teenager is “disabled,” although that is unverified, and that Meijer managers “waited until he racked up enough to press charges, rather than giving him a warning.” It is unclear the place these particulars got here from, however they helped gasoline the backlash in opposition to the corporate.

Two days later, an opinion piece in Inc.com by Suzanne Lucas included an announcement from a Meijer spokesperson on the incident.

“An investigation showed that the former team member in question had knowingly committed multiple thefts over multiple months, totaling hundreds of dollars, which is why local law enforcement was involved,” they mentioned.

“Hundreds of dollars” doesn’t appear to precisely symbolize the whole acknowledged by the officer within the video, which was $110.

The Meijer blowback begins

Fast ahead to August 19, and the story has gone viral once more. Multiple X posts on the subject gained thousands and thousands of views, together with a letter by @njoyzgrl81 claiming that the worker’s alleged theft was a product of meals insecurity and declaring her intent to boycott Meijer.

“You had an opportunity to intercede and support an employee with their food insecurity crisis,” she wrote. “If this is your company policy regarding employees, one can only speculate how little you value your customers.”

“As a consumer, I have many options, and will no longer support or patronize your stores.”

On TikTok, @neiltheceo claimed the shop was going to throw away the objects the worker allegedly stole. The Daily Dot has not been capable of confirm the accuracy of those statements.

@neiltheceo 16 yr previous disabled teen arrested for stealing fruit cups from Meijer grocery retailer #trending #foryoupage #viralvideo #fypシ ♬ authentic sound – Neiltheceo

Chain grocery shops are infamous for throwing away tons of meals annually on account of handed expiration dates or beauty causes. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, retailers and customers trashed “133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food in 2010.”

Aside from the truth that Meijer workers within the video alleged the whole stolen was value $110, that the teenager had a tough time consuming throughout his breaks, and that he walked to work generally, the remainder of this story stays unconfirmed.

The Daily Dot reached out to Meijer in an try to verify particulars. The firm didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

The story’s unfold is inflicting a critical PR downside for Meijer. As the story goes viral for the third time this yr, individuals are voicing their anger over the corporate arresting a hungry teen as an alternative of firing him.

“He was taking food from the throwaway bin. @meijer wasn’t losing any money on it,” wrote @Ghostofcynthia. “I hope the blowback is HUGE. Get this kid a lawyer and sue the shit out of them.”

“When I was a pizza cook in my youth, manager let us eat 1 pizza a day, 2 if we worked long shifts,” mentioned @Monstrello. “But if we were hungry, he didn’t mind us taking a bit extra. People who slacked and didn’t do their job properly were fired, not the ones who took an extra piece of salami. This is normal human behavior which didn’t require any contract.”

“I understand your post to say the items he ate were being thrown away. If so, that’s a disgusting punishment for this young man @meijer,” wrote @DMcKayRE. “Likely he’s consuming products that are being tossed because he can’t afford to purchase them on the salary you were paying him.”

“They would rather destroy FOOD than feed a child,” declared @helenfoss739 on TikTok. “The evil is broad and deep.”

“Meijer’s is getting cooked in their comments,” @tjcilantro noticed. “They’re about to feel Target’s pain.”

The Daily Dot has reached out to Meijer for remark by way of e-mail.

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