Woman Says Chicago Walgreens Keeps Lunchables Locked Behind Chains — ‘It’s Rough Out Here’

A woman's clip during her shopping trip to what she says was a Walgreens in Chicago is going viral online, all because of a food item the store has locked behind a refrigerator that requires employee assistance to open.

In the clip, which was reshared on X by user @Chicago_Goofies, she captions her video, "It's rough out here," before telling viewers, "Y'all, I'm at Walgreens in Chicago. Look at this."

She then pans her camera over to a refrigerator housing various food items that typically fall on the lower end of the price scale.

The Walgreens Had Lunchables, Sour Cream, and Cheese Locked Up in the Fridge

In the short clip, the woman shows a double refrigerator inside the Walgreens, but the doors are bolted shut with a chain and lock. On the window of the fridge is a sign that reads, "Press button for assistance," with an call button below it for customers to push so an employee can come unlock the door.

Inside are not only the typical Lunchables that come with meat, cheese, crackers, and a sweet treat, but also the smaller versions of those packs. The other items being kept under lock and key include shredded cheese, sliced cheese, bacon, hot dogs, and sour cream.

The X user who reshared the clip captioned it, "The shoplifting at this Walgreens in Chicago must be on another level if they're locking up the Lunchables."

One person suggested, "The way to stop this is only be able to order outside the store and pay for the product behind closed doors." They further explained that employees should shop for the customer and then hand them the food, adding, "This way they get the food they want and the theft is controlled."

While some found it surprising to see Lunchables locked up, which means customers who want to buy one would have to wait for an employee to come to the aisle, unlock the refrigerator, and bring it to the register, others said their Walgreens is taking things a step further. "They lock up the larger candy bars at mine," one person wrote.

But it seems this isn't the only Walgreens locking up refrigerated goods.

In a Threads post shared by @rinnyriot, the clip shows various Walgreens refrigerators and freezers with the same chains and locks on them. But the security measures at this particular location extended beyond Lunchables. All types of frozen goods, including ice cream, were also kept behind the chains and padlocks. That person captioned the video, "Walgreens putting padlocks on food in their stores is nasty work."

The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the reason the Walgreens location locked the refrigerated items or whether the security measures were related to theft.