Letter to the Editor: Loss of faith

By Sun Advocate

Editor:
This letter is in response to last week’s “Free Groceries a Bust for Some” (Sun Advocate April 28).
I was there at the grocery store on March 9 to witness the wild scene. I also have done my homework on the subject. The promotion was done by one of the cell phone companies and the promotion was only supposed to last for one hour not two. Company personnel actually stayed a half hour longer than they had planned.
I was there at the start of the promotion when people were very grateful and surprised to find that someone was going to pay for their groceries. To me, it gave off a good feeling, but soon it turned ugly. I couldn’t believe the way people were running through the store like it was “Supermarket Sweep”. I can understand if someone calls a friend or relative to tell them to go get a few groceries, but what I saw was nothing like that.
There were people with two or three carts packed full of the most expensive things they could find. We are not talking about the kind of groceries you buy day to day.
After people were told that the promotion was over and that their groceries would not be free they acted like children, as if it were owed to them. They didn’t even know who was doing the more than kind buying.
People were inconsiderate and rude to the stores employees. They left their carts all over the store to be cleaned up after they had gone, I went to look at the items left in the carts and was appalled to find carts stacked with DVD’s, three or four $50 pieces of meat, several cases of beer, etc. Not just a few typical grocery items.
I went home sick to my stomach that day and disappointed in our community. The cellular company could have put a limit on the grocery amount, this is true, but it is too bad that they couldn’t just do something for people without being taken advantage of by selfishness and greed.
I felt a total loss of faith in our community and in our country that day. Should the cell company have expected or predicted the citizens of Price to react that way? If so that is pretty sad to say of our community.
Knowing that the same thing may have taken place in another city doesn’t make me feel any better.