A student-run grocery store stocked with free food and clothing was started in the North Texas area of Sanger after a school official noticed the Coronavirus pandemic and ensuing lockdowns caused many in the community to fall below the poverty line.
According to CBN News, Linda Tutt High School Principal Anthony Love started the school to help families keep up with necessities until the lockdowns and pandemic end and people are allowed to work again. The grocery store is student-run and was started last November.
According to a Facebook post from the high school during Christmastime, 32 families were helped one night with the combined effort of multiple charitable organizations and individuals, and a Christian ministry. Apparently, the Latter-Day Saints, better known as Mormons, also volunteered.
So far, the store offers jackets and shoes and other items in addition to food. According to ABC7NY, the food is given based on a point system.
According to Love, local businesses have been giving the store financial support so it can keep its doors open. “We’re trying to spread good things and we want our kids to move on and to continue to do good for the community and for the people around them,” Love said in a statement.
Additionally, store manager Hunter Weeterman shared that he found it “rewarding” to see the smiles on everyone’s faces. “I like seeing the smiles and seeing like how appreciative they are and knowing that they are thankful that we’re doing something like this. I think it’s very important because a lot of people don’t see the good, even though it’s hard right now.”
The grocery store also seeks to give students valuable job training and teach them about the importance of giving back.
Currently, the store is open 7 days a week so that residents can come in at a time that works best for them.
Photo courtesy: Gemma/Unsplash
John Paluska has been a contributor for Christian Headlines since 2016 and is the founder of The Daily Fodder, a news outlet he relaunched in 2019 as a response to the constant distribution of fake news.