Most Massachusetts Stop & Shop Stores Going Back to Free Bags

Massachusetts Stop & Shop customers will no longer pay for paper bags beginning on Wednesday.

A week after it was announced the supermarket chain would do away with the 10-cent charge for brown paper bags in all 25 of its Rhode Island stores, a spokesperson said “a majority of Massachusetts Stop & Shop locations” will follow suit beginning on Wednesday, October 16.

“We have heard our customers loud and clear, and as a result, we have decided to eliminate the 10-cent paper bag fee for our in-store shoppers,” spokesperson Stephanie Cunha said.

Customers at Massachusetts Stop & Shop stores have had to pay the 10-cent bag fee for brown paper bags since May of 2023, a move that has been controversial among patrons ever since.

Not Every Massachusetts Stop & Shop Will Have Free Bags

Local ordinances in some Bay State communities will prevent Stop & Shop from providing free bags.

“While bags are free at more than 100 Stop & Shop stores across the state, there are a handful of communities where we are required to charge for bags at checkout,” Cunha said. “We will continue to charge in those locations only, in order to remain in compliance with local ordinances.”

What Massachusetts Stop & Shop Stores Will Still Charge for Bags?

Stop & Shop is required to continue to charge for bags in Dedham, Framingham, Greenfield, and Boston-area stores in Roslindale, Dorchester, South Boston, Jamaica Plain, Allston, Boston, Hyde Park and Roxbury.

Pricing Changes Coming to Massachusetts Stop & Shops As Well

“Earlier this year Stop & Shop announced our commitment to improve the customer experience through price investments, continued investments in store remodels, and by delivering great service in our stores. Part of that includes lowering everyday, regular pricing across our footprint,” Cunha told us last week.

“This is a large-scale, multifaceted effort that will roll out in phases to provide noticeable savings for our customers,” she said. “We have already lowered pricing on thousands of items across stores in Rhode Island, western Massachusetts, Connecticut and several pilot locations in the Greater Boston area. We will continue to lower pricing across Massachusetts stores in the coming months.”