Stranger’s act of kindness to struggling mum when she realized she couldn’t afford her Woolworths grocery: ‘Walked out crying’
- Single mother walks out of Woolworths in tears after act of kindness
- Strangers came in and paid for things she couldn’t afford
A single mom has revealed the heartwarming act of a stranger who came in to pay for her groceries when she realized she couldn’t pay for them at the checkout.
Ree from Gosford on NSW’s Central Coast struggled to make ends meet due to rising living costs coupled with personal problems.
On Sunday, she visited her local Woolworths store and realized when she got to the checkout that she didn’t have enough money to pay for her cart’s groceries.
As the single mom scrambled to figure out what items to throw out of her store, the kindness of a stranger took over.
Single mom Ree (pictured) has revealed the heartwarming act of a stranger at a supermarket checkout when she had to put items back because she couldn’t afford them
Ree said a stranger insisted they pay for the goods she couldn’t afford when she went to return them, sending the struggling single mom into tears (stock image)
Ree said Yahoo News the generosity of strangers in unloading goods she “couldn’t afford” was touching, as was the patience of the staff.
“The cashier was amazingly calm with me[when I]asked to ‘put this back’ or say, ‘I don’t get this’…She was so nice about it,” Ree said.
“The lady behind me asked the cashier to ring up everything I put back because she was going to pay it for me. I walked out crying,” she said.
The single mom said the gesture meant “everything” to her, while the stranger insisted she pay for any items Ree couldn’t afford.
“I explained my situation to her and she said she knew what it felt like not being able to afford things from the past,” she said.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making a truly awful situation so much easier right now.”
The Salvation Army’s latest survey found that of the 1,700 people using the foundation’s services, 93 percent had difficulty meeting their basic needs.
Of those using the charity’s services, 50 per cent cannot afford essential health care and just over half skip meals.
The Salvation Army’s latest survey found that of 1,700 people using the foundation’s services, 93 percent struggled to afford basic necessities (Photo: Woolworths Trolley)
More than three out of four people in the report live on an income below the poverty line.
Meanwhile, nearly 90 percent struggled to pay bills, skipped meals, sought financial help, or had to sell their belongings to make ends meet.
The same number depended on social benefits and 80 percent of those receiving Centrelink lived in households below the poverty line.
Australia’s poverty line based on 50 percent of median household income ranged from $489 per week for a single person to $1,027 per week for a couple with two children, according to a report by the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) and UNSW.
The majority of respondents in the Salvation Army report said they found it difficult to afford groceries, fuel, transportation, clothing and health care, as well as pay their electricity and gas bills.
Rising rents have also taken their toll, with a quarter unable to pay their rent or mortgage and three in five say their rent is unaffordable.
Half of the 1,700 interviewees could not afford basic medical care such as dentists or even prescription drugs.