As anyone who loves cooking and making food can tell you, it's never just about the food. It's also about caring for people. From small to large, life-changing acts of kindness are probably happening at a restaurant near you, and you may not even know it. Here are just a few that went viral for all the right reasons.
A waitress in Texas was surprised by a gift from her coworkers. Mary was working as a waitress at Cheddar's in Laredo, Texas. But since her family lived back in Hawaii, she hadn't seen them in six years. Her coworkers decided to surprise her by raising money for a plane ticket so she could go back and see her family. She posted a video of the emotional moment and noted in a Facebook post that she had just been working there for only a year when they presented her with the surprise. "As I am typing this, I can't even find the words to describe how I feel or how to thank each and every person who pitched in for me," she wrote. "Know that I am always going to be there to help them."
And here's another one.
Two firefighters who had been fighting a fire in New Brunswick walked into a Delran, New Jersey diner and asked for the biggest cup of coffee they had. Waitress Liz Woodward told today.com, "I had been following the New Brunswick fire on the news. This was their first meal in over 24 hours. The least I could do was buy it for them." Along with paying for their meal, she wrote the pair a nice note thanking them for all they did. Both firefighters were touched and posted about what had happened on Facebook. Firefighters Tim Young and Paul Hullings soon found out that Woodward had been trying to raise money to get her dad a wheelchair accessible van on GoFundMe and raise awareness for this effort on Facebook. "Turns out the young lady who gave us a free meal," said the firefighters, "is really the one that could use the help." 2,000 people raised more than four times Woodward's initial goal to get her dad the van.
In 2015, a man in a wheelchair approached a McDonald's cashier and asked for help cutting up his food. Though it was during rush hour, cashier Kenny Soriano shut down his register and started to help him cut up his food. Another customer, Destiny Carreno, captured the moment in a photo that she posted with the story on Facebook. She wrote, quote, "My heart was so appreciative for what he did, I couldn't contain my emotions in the crowded restaurant."
When restaurant owner Kazi Main first came to America from a small town in Pakistan in 1996, he told ABC 7 News that he only had $5 in his pocket. He worked his way up to becoming the owner of the Sakina Halal Grill, and that's when he decided that if you're in need, hungry, and/or experience homelessness, you can eat for free at his restaurant. He named the place after his mother, who he had said always made everyone feel welcome in their home even when his family had no money. Quote, "I'm a Muslim American, and I like to believe that, uh, when I'm giving to the poor and the hungry, God sees that." Just think about what food has the power to do.
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