Halloween marked the last day of operations for eight Stop & Shop grocery stores across Massachusetts — a stinky treat that leaves needy residents scrambling for alternatives.

The Bay State closures, from Brockton to Springfield, are part of a consolidation effort in which the grocery chain shuttered 32 underperforming stores across the Northeast.

Stop & Shop President Gordon Reid said that the company decided to close the stores to create a “healthy base for the future growth of our brand.”

Ahold Delhaize, a Dutch supermarket company that owns the chain, said in May that it planned to close some Stop & Shop locations to strengthen the brand. The company said it wants to build new stores and remodel the remaining ones, increase the number of store-brand products it offers and reduce prices.

A store on North Montello Street in Brockton is one of those closing in the Massachusetts. Stop & Shop previously tried to close the location in the spring of 2023, but Brockton Mayor Robert F. Sullivan and other leaders rallied, convincing the company and its landlord to keep it open.

Sullivan was not happy about the reversal, the Brockton Enterprise reported in July.

“I am very disappointed with Stop & Shop’s decision to close this location in a part of our city that desperately needs a grocery store,” Sullivan told the regional newspaper. “We were assured just last year that this location would continue to operate.”

“This closure will greatly impact many Brocktonians who rely on this store for food, pharmacy and gas purchases on a daily basis,” he added. “We will work with residents to assure they have access to other stores in the area.”

The chain said in July it was also closing 10 stores in New Jersey, seven in New York, five in Connecticut and two in Rhode Island. It added that employees at affected stores would be offered other jobs within the company.

Burt Flickinger, a longtime retail consultant and owner of Strategic Resource Group, said many of Stop & Shop’s problems were self-inflicted. The brand closed fresh meat and seafood counters in some stores, for example, which cut down on the amount customers spent in those stores.

Stop & Shop is also getting squeezed by big rivals like Walmart and Costco, and discount chains like Aldi and Lidl.

Another store shutting down in Massachusetts is a location on Lincoln Street in Worcester. City officials there saw their requests for the company to reconsider the closure turned down.

Company officials met with the city in a private meeting in late July to discuss the closure, MassLive reported at the time. The store is located near several Worcester Housing Authority complexes with people who are either on a fixed income or are considered low-income families, the outlet reported.

“In all, you’re looking at 8,000 to 9,000 individuals that use Stop & Shops and when it’s closing, certainly it’s going to limit their food options what they are accustomed to having,” WHA CEO Alex Corrales told MassLive.

Full list of stores closing in Massachusetts:

932 North Montello St., Brockton
36 New State Highway, Raynham
341 Plymouth St., Halifax
539-571 Boston Turnpike, Shrewsbury
165 Needham St., Newton (bfresh Market)
415 Cooley St., Springfield (1600 Boston Road and 1277 Liberty St., Springfield will remain open)
545 Lincoln St. Worcester (940 West Boylston St. and 949 Grafton St., Worcester will remain open)
24 Mattakeesett St., Pembroke (125 Church St., Pembroke will remain open)

The Associated Press contributed to this report