Texas grocery store loses power, lets shoppers leave with groceries
'H‑E‑B has done more for Texas than our own government leadership,' said one Twitter user
H-E-B grocery store in Leander, Texas has gone viral for its act of kindness to families during a severe winter storm which has left many scrambling for food and water after power outages.
The Washington Post reported that H-E-B allowed customers to leave with groceries free of charge. According to Tim Hennessy, 60, there was a “collective groan” on Tuesday when the lights went out while he was standing in a checkout line behind 20 customers.
Read More: Texas electricity bills skyrocket amid state of emergency
Once Hennessy reached the cashier, she waved him to move through before thanking him and telling him to drive home safely. “And it hit us — like, wow, they’re just letting us walk out the door,” he said.
Hennessy’s Facebook post about the store’s generosity garnered attention online which ultimately lead to a Friday op-ed in the San Antonio Express-News entitled, “Why H-E-B comes through in a crisis when Texas government doesn’t.”
“We could not believe the generosity of H.E.B. and the kindness of that wonderful gesture. They could just as easily asked us all to leave the store as soon as the power went out and asked us to just leave the groceries in the carts,” Hennessy said to the news outlet.
“This is the America that I know. Despite all the negative we hear/see being reported daily in the news. America and most Americans are still kind, thoughtful, generous, and caring.”
Read More: Texas couple opens home to stranded delivery woman for 6 days
In light of the news, people took to Twitter to commend H-E-B for their act of kindness. Anne Hudson tweeted, “Wow! @HEB is seriously EVERYTHING! The electricity went out in the Leander store this afternoon, while people were shopping, which meant they could NOT check out…HEB let everyone take their carts of full groceries home for FREE. #AllTheFeels.”
Miles Luna tweeted, “H‑E‑B has done more for Texas than our own government leadership for the past year. I literally trust a southern grocery store chain more than the people whose job is to be there for us when we need them.”
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