Coworker takes entire boxes home of office snacks, manager locks the cabinet in response: 'Over four Tuesdays in a row the cabinet is half empty by 2 pm and [he] has a tote bag'

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Nov 12, 2025 10:00 AM EST

When a manager had the nice idea to provide snacks for the office, one man took advantage of it, and everything came crashing down.

Office snacks make the world go round. If there is something on hand to eat, then it makes the day go by a little bit quicker. It also probably makes you a little more productive since it saves you from running out to get snacks during the day. Plus, it's a relatively cheap way for companies to show their employees that they care. But don't you just hate it when one person ruins something for everyone else?

That's what happened in this story, when a man who worked at an office saw the complimentary snacks as a way to feed his family. Instead of taking only his share, so the rest of his coworkers could enjoy it too, he hogged them all to himself. Even worse, when the snack provider tried to reprimand him about his behavior, he got weirdly defensive and still wouldn't stop stealing. Even after HR was called in, he kept going. 

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  • A man sits at his desk eating a sandwich with one hand.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • What made it worse was that the snacks were coming out of one man's pocket. There wasn't quite enough budget to cover all of it, so the manager chipped in. But that didn't stop this man from ruining it for everyone. Read on to see what happened and decide what you would have done.

  • AITJ for locking the office snack cabinet after a coworker kept taking whole boxes home?

    I run a small data team, hybrid schedule. We have a tiny budget for morale stuff, so for months I was buying snacks on my own card and expensing part of it. Nothing fancy, just granola bars, tea, sparkling water. It kept people from running out for junk and it made late afternoons less meh. I also put a little sign that said take what you need for today so it would last the week.
    via u/Skybrennerr
  • Enter D. Nice enough in meetings, but the kind of person who treats shared things like free refills. First week back in office he walks out with three seltzers and two bars. I shrug. Second week I notice an empty cardboard sleeve that had twenty trail mix bags. I restock and start paying attention. Over four Tuesdays in a row the cabinet is
    via u/Skybrennerr
  • half empty by 2 pm and D has a tote bag. I ask him casually if he is grabbing for a team. He laughs and says my kids love these. I say please try to keep it to one or two a day so everyone gets some. He says sure.
    via u/Skybrennerr
  • It does not change. I try a clearer note. Please one drink and one snack per person per day. That afternoon D jokes that the sign is cute and takes a family pack of fruit strips. My manager tells me to just stop buying snacks if it is a hassle. The problem is people actually like the setup when it lasts, and it costs me time to
    via u/Skybrennerr
  • micromanage. So I buy a cheap cube cabinet with a lock, leave a daily basket out with a fair amount, and stash the rest in the cabinet for refills. Staff knows the combo. I do not give D the code because he already ignored the limit twice after I asked.
    via u/Skybrennerr
  • D goes to HR saying I created a hostile environment by excluding him from a shared resource. HR pings me asking for context. I send receipts, the sign photo, and the fact that the snacks are budgeted for work consumption on site, not grocery runs. HR says to keep a consistent rule and apply it to all. I
    via u/Skybrennerr
  • update the policy in our team chat. Basket is first come first serve, refills at 2 pm, no taking boxes home. D replies that I am policing food and that he has a big family. A few coworkers privately thank me because now the basket lasts all day.
    via u/Skybrennerr
  • Today D told me I am petty and that I embarrassed him by locking up granola. I said I am just trying to make a shared thing actually shared. He called me a control freak. Now I am second guessing. AITJ for locking the cabinet and not giving D the code. TLDR. Coworker kept taking whole boxes of office snacks home, I locked the restock cabinet and set limits, he reported me and called me petty.
    via u/Skybrennerr

  • Commenters agreed that this was unacceptable behavior.

    • Aggravating_Button... 1h ago NTA Juat stop providing snacks and let the group hate toward him teach him a lesson.
    via u/Aggravating_Button99
  • Historical-Scar903 · 1h ago NTJ but really I think you need to stop being nice and either a) keep this shit at your desk and share with people as you please, or b) stop footing the bill altogether even if you get to expense it.
    via u/Historical-Scar903
  • Rows of snacks sit out for employees to take.
    via Gaining Visuals

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Exodeus87 • 1h ago D needs to remember he's the one who had the size of family he did, it's not on the workplace to feed his swarm.
    via u/Exodeus87
  • traciw67 1h ago Ntj. No more snacks. Let it be known it its SOLELY due to that one employee.
    via u/traciw67
  • repthe732 1h ago D is the reason good things are taken away in offices. Policing people like them just becomes too much of a hassle so people just take the benefit away entirely
    via u/repthe732
  • StellarStylee · 1h ago NTJ. Is D aware that you're the one funding the office snacks? He has a job; he can provide his children's snacks just like he did before he started raiding the office.
    via u/StellarStylee
  • Annual_Government... 1h ago He has a big family, he created the big family!!And now he wants his workplace to supplement his groceries. lol. You did the right thing D is a huge D.
    via u/Annual_Government_80
  • TheWidowAustero2 1h ago STOP BUYING SNACKS FOR EVERYONE. STOP IT. STOP NTA BUT STOP
    via u/TheWidowAustero2
  • • floridaeng 55m ago Tell D he has embarrassed himself for being greedy and all of his coworkers know he is the reason the snacks are now rationed. Point out his family doesn't work there and the snacks are for those that actually produce something for the company.
    via u/floridaeng
  • Alternate answer - Tell D he is the one responsible for feeding his family, not you. Let him know all of his coworkers know he is the reason everything has to be locked up.
    via u/floridaeng
  • ApartmentMaterial9... 1h ago . You are funding a portion of it so what he is doing is stealing, you've given him the rules. Take a snack to get you through the day. It's not a grocery store, it's not snacks to bring home for the kids. You can offer to buy his kids snacks if he wants to pay for what he's bringing home to them.
    via u/ApartmentMaterial950
  • Original_Thanks_94... 1h ago NTJ but are a little for thinking the honor system works for everyone. Just tell everyone the snacks will no longer be provided. End of story. Your manager was right, JUST STOP!
    via u/Original_Thanks_9435
  • Even_Speech570 .30m ago My cousin used to work for Pepsi. When she first started working there you could go to the vending machines and get a free Pepsi any time. Then someone came into the office with large trash bags and filled them with cans of Pepsi and took them home and the machines were changed so you had to pay a quarter a can. Always a jerk who has to ruin it for everyone else....
    via u/Even_Speech570
  • PlanetPeachPrincess 1h ago • OMG, NTA dude. You're doing a solid by providing snacks outta your own pocket. D sounds like he's got no chill and needs to back off big time. Ain't no need to hoard office snacks for his family. That ain't cool man, stand your ground! Keep the snack- sanity alive!
    via u/PlanetPeachPrincess
  • Wandering_aimle... . 59m ago You're the jerk to D for sure lol. You just made him spend $50 a week to feed his own kids. How dare you rofl. But NTJ to everyone else in the world. You got work snacks to be kept at and consumed at work. Not to take home to their families.
    via u/Wandering_aimlessly9
  • Marialnconnu 35m ago . Does he know that part of that money is your personal money that you don't get back? The rule should be "food for on-site use; taking food home is theft and will be treated as such."
    via u/Marialnconnu
  • Useful-Wolverine-... 35m ago . NTJ. I would occasionally bring Pizza or donuts for our entire plant, over 200 people. One coworker would take a couple whole pizzas to his locker to take home for his family dinner. This happened 3 times before I decided to stop bringing them. It only takes one bad apple....
    via u/Useful-Wolverine-467
  • . Interesting_Wing_... 33m ago I used to keep a candy jar of chocolates in my office and it was available to everyone. One day a co-worker came in and dumped most of the jar in her purse saying that her kids loved them. The candy jar was moved to my filing cabinet. With the exception of her, everyone knew where and why it was there.
    via u/Interesting_Wing_461

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boss antiwork workplace-stories toxic-workplace job bosses work coworkers working reddit story toxic-boss snacks workplace reddit thread bad bosses Reddit toxic-work-environment
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