We all have those days where we accidentally go to the grocery store after the gym or when we are hungry. This usually results in either buying too many snacks or in possibly opening up one of those snacks while you finish your shopping.

I used to be worried as to whether I was even allowed to do so but now, as I have gotten older, I do it. I figure it's fine since I always pay for the item but recently, I started to get a little freaked out about it.

I did some research to see if you can snack legally while at a grocery store in Minnesota. Please keep in mind that individual stores may not allow something or have their own sets of rules so it's always a good idea to make sure you aren't breaking any rules of a single store.

Overall, however, I have found that you actually can eat before buying something at a Minnesota grocery store, so long as you pay for the item before you leave and have no intent on stealing the item or not paying for it. That would be shoplifting.

However, the type of food does matter in this instance. Let's say you rip open a bag of chips or a tube of Pringles. This doesn't matter because you are paying the same price whether you eat one chip or the whole tube of Pringles.

If you are snacking on something that requires a scale, this is where you might run into trouble. Let's say you eat a pear or some snap peas out of the bag while you shop. This could be considered stealing, as you pay by weight. If you eat something and then weigh what is left, you aren't really paying for what you already consumed. Do you know what I mean?

Obviously, one or two grapes might not make a difference but if you are snacking on something like this while shopping, you might be cheating the store out of some money. Opt for a bag of chips while shopping instead!

This was actually a BIG debate on the TODAY Show a few years back. They had a whole segment on it with some people thinking it is okay to eat before paying for food, saying you do the same thing at a restaurant or while trying on clothes. Others saw things a different way, calling it theft.

I think we can all agree on one thing here: going to the grocery store hungry is NEVER a good idea so let's all snack before we get there, if only to save ourselves from buying a ton of snacks that we will regret later. Or not.

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