As students returned to school at the end of August, they were faced with a substantial change. Giant, the supermarket in Georgetown Square, implemented new measures that limit the number of students allowed in the store to 25 people at a time during the lunch hour.

This change comes after the Pay-and-Go policy that was put in place during the second semester of the 2022-2023 school year. It prohibited students from staying at G-Square during lunch after purchasing their food, a measure said to help businesses and keep the area more organized.

Now, after multiple encounters with the store’s management regarding the shoplifting issues caused by some students, they have taken the drastic decision to limit the number of students in the store. They have 25 printed and laminated passes which give the students permission to enter the store. When the passes are all being used, a long line begins to form parallel to the pre-existing line of shopping carts. This means that many students have to wait several minutes to enter the store and to be able to purchase their lunch.

It’s clear that this has led to some positive changes. The store’s near emptiness means there is no longer a huge line for the self checkout aisles and thus the process of shopping is much more efficient. One can also imagine that with only 25 students to keep track of inside the store, the prevention of shoplifting is much easier and manageable for the employees. The biggest winners with this new policy are the other shoppers who are not students. It’s likely that shoppers are much more comfortable when there’s an emptier store depleted of dozens of teenagers who are frankly too loud.

Although these positives impact both the business and the other shoppers, these measures are not too beneficial for students. While the store may be less crowded, the 25 limit forces students to seek other places to buy lunch, which only causes more crowding in other stores.One of the main reasons that students choose to shop at Giant was because of the short lines and quick shopping experience. With it now taking much longer, many students have sought out different alternatives such as Balduccis in Wildwood or driving to Westfield Montgomery.

It is easy to understand why the decision was made and that it may be in the best interests of Giant, but it is a frustrating rule for students who now have to wait 10-15 minutes to enter the store. It will be interesting to see how everything plays out in the following weeks and months. Will students entirely stop shopping at Giant? Will the rule be reversed? A good solution might be expanding the number of students from 25 to 35 or more. This would facilitate the overall experience for students while also keeping the store less crowded than before.