Yes, H-E-B really did give away free groceries to shoppers during this week's winter storm
LEANDER, Texas – Several shoppers in Central Texas are singing H-E-B’s praises after the store officials in Leander allowed shoppers to leave with free groceries amid the intense winter storm that hit the area this week.
Tim Hennessy tells us he and his wife were at the store in Leander on Tuesday, buying some much-needed supplies, when the power suddenly went out.
“Sure enough, about 10-15 minutes later one of the HEB employees asked us to head to the check-out area and said: ‘we’ll check everyone out as quickly as we can as we have a process for these kinds of things,’” wrote Hennessy on Facebook.
At first, the lines were long and slow-moving. Then, the lines at checkout started to pick up speed.
When Hennessy arrived at the checkout counter, the worker at the register waved them through.
“At first, Deb and I were a bit confused and I asked: “How or who do we pay for our groceries?” We probably had a couple of hundred dollars worth of groceries. She said: “Just go ahead and be safe driving home.” Then we noticed the lines of people after the checkout stands proceeding with full carts of groceries all being directed out the store with many employees there to greet us on our way out.”
Hennessy added that other shoppers were just as delighted and in the midst of the cold weather, some even came together to help load groceries into others’ cars.
“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,” he wrote.
We spoke by phone to Hennessy on Friday who said he has since followed up with H-E-B and plans to pay it forward by making a donation to an H-E-B-supported charity in his area.
“I salute H.E.B. for the kindness they showed us, the thoughtfulness they showed us, the generosity they showed us, and the caring that they showed us (along with the other hundreds of fellow Texans in the store at that time).”
