People left without paying at this Texas grocery store during storm. Then, they returned
About three years ago, an H-E-B grocery store in Leander, Texas set off a chain reaction of kindness. The store went viral for letting its customers leave without paying following a power cut during a severe winter storm. The act of kindness set off a chain reaction of kindness with customers paying it forward, one customer Tim Hennessy told the Washington Post.
A Texas grocery store lost power and let people leave without paying. Shoppers paid it forward. https://t.co/awKe0decz4
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 20, 2021
An act of kindness during tough times
Hennessy, 60, shared that he remembers a “collective groan” when the lights at the store went out with customers standing at the checkout. Hennessy recalled that there were a couple hundred shoppers who were scrambling to get food and water during a statewide emergency.
At the time, Texas was hit by one of the worst snowstorms in the state’s history. While the storm caused rolling blackouts which have lasted for days, residents were forced to rely on relief efforts to survive.
Amid this, Hennessy recalled that when the power went out, the store manager asked everyone to move to the front. At a time when price gouging was rampant, Hennessy expected the manager to tell everyone to leave their carts in place and go.
However, to their surprise, the cashier simply waved to the customers to leave with the groceries as there was no time to bag anything.
“And it hit us — like, wow, they’re just letting us walk out the door,” Hennessy told the Washington Post. He added that he could see shoppers pushing their carts piled high with milk, boxes of crackers, diapers, and more.
Hennessy wrote about the incident in a Facebook post and shared a couple of images. He titled his post “The Heart of America,” as he and his wife felt it captured the humanity they experienced from the large grocery chain. He said that the company had no obligation to give away products for free but realizing the dire situation, they did so.
“I literally wrote my feelings that night for a couple hundred of my friends who may comment on it and say, ‘Hey man, neat story,’” he told CNN. However, Hennessy's post went viral overnight garnering national attention.
The Facebook post even made headlines with the Houston Chronicle covering the act of kindness, in contrast to the failures of the Texas government.
H‑E‑B has done more for Texas than our own government leadership for the past year.
— Miles Luna (he/him) (@TheMilesLuna) February 18, 2021
I literally trust a southern grocery store chain more than the people whose job is to be there for us when we need them.
Customers paid it forward
Hennessy also recalled that several customers were touched by the store's generosity. Some even decided to pay it forward while leaving the store. He shared that customers helped each other as the shopping carts got stuck in the ice.
snow storm in dallas, texas pic.twitter.com/UCvxsljB1D
— Zane Daniel (@zanexdaniel) February 18, 2021
People held each other's bags and helped the elderly to get to their cars and load the unbagged items of groceries. Hennessy too helped an older man.
Even Hennessy and his wife reflected on the experience on their ride back home. The man went on to call the H-E-B corporate number and asked for charities the company might like him to donate to. Whatever the couple saved from getting the groceries for free, they donated to a local food pantry and a faith-based retreat center.