To the man outside of the U-District Trader Joe’s at closing time
last Thursday night:
I was at the front register having a tough time explaining to the
cashier that I had less than $20 left on the cash side of my EBT card
(food stamps and stipend), therefore was not able to use an ATM, and
after three attempts at carefully articulating how the card worked,
while the person in line behind me patiently sighed (as if it were my
fault), I almost gave up in frustration. Perhaps you witnessed the
incident, or maybe you heard me mutter to myself that I loved being
poor. In either case, when I went out with my groceries, I was grabbing
a copy of the latest Stranger when you came up to me and slipped
me a $20, saying, “It looks like you need this more than me.” I was
momentarily stunned, and my first reaction was to tell you I couldn’t
accept it. Instead, I practiced on my issues with accepting or asking
for help and just said, thank you so much. And I meant it.
That sort of kindness, the simple gesture, made my eyes well up
because I was very grateful and very touched. I am struggling right
now, I would rather be working, and you lifted my spirits and restored
my ever-ebbing faith in mankind. You get what you give, what goes
around comes around—I wish you much good karma, if you believe in
that sort of thing. 
kudos. nice people ARE still out there. studies show it’s harder to ask for money than it is to ask for sex.
“thank you so much” was the perfect response. Learning how to receive graciously is as important as learning how to give graciously.
This I anonymous made my day.
This is truly the best ‘I Anonymous’ I’ve ever read…
Makes me very HAPPY :o)
I think the White House should relocate to Seattle
During the course of 3 carefully articulated attempts did you wonder why a cashier at Trader Joe’s wouldn’t be familiar with how food stamps work?
Roy; Trader Joes IS a cheaper grocery store.
oh for godsake kip pull your head out of your ass.just because someone is not well off doesn’t mean there shouldn’t eat right.trader joes prices aren’t really that far off from other grocery stores and the food is much better,for u and the environment so if karma does exist u bought some tainted peanutbutter
Trader Jo’s is by far the cheapest place to buy basics. As a member of the educated and pissed off poor, I know what I’m talking about.
Trader Joe’s is a cheaper grocery store!! Everthing is private-labeled goods, and that’s why it’s cheap. Thus, you can get more organic, healthy food for a better price.
kip……dude……recession
Funny Kip. I read the column and assumed the author was male. Go figure.
Hey, did you know that Trader Joe’s is cheap? Well, it is.
As grocery stores go, TJs is actually very affordable and Americorp volunteers (who get food stamps to supplement their already very meager incomes) report that without it, they could not live in Seattle. Also, can we stop for a minute and assume that this person knows how to choose cost-effective food stuffs? Peanut butter, pasta, and milk are just as cheap (sometimes cheaper) at TJs as they are at Safeway.
How refreshing that there are those who still help others and those helped that take the time to thank someone. Kudos!
Awesome. Loved it.
Pay it Forward (the film) made a hash of this concept as do silly bumper stickers that read: Random Acts of Kindness. The reality is if we practiced a little more of this outside the X-mas season, we could figuratively move mountains. Call it Obama-hope disease or what you will, but I have been discussing this concept with all my friends of late. I hope this sort of thing is what common place, rather than the exception.
This story made my eyes well-up, as well.
YES! A little less cynicism, a little more Golden Rule. How is it that we’ve become a community of haters? The truth is that it feels good to do something for someone else. Chemically something happens in the brain that makes us happy… A little less Prozac, a few more good deeds!
i have long believed that this kind of action was precisely the reason why we were put on this earth. it is tough to solve global problems, but reaching out to each other quietly and for no other purpose than to share our common humanity is possible. sadly, too often possible.
thanks for sharing..
Actually a lot of Trader Joe’s products are better quality AND less expensive than the competition — one example is their salsa. Wife and I compared that with alternatives at Safeway, Giant, Shopper’s (we’re on the East Coast) and TJ’s, despite providing the subjectively tastiest salsa, was also objectively the least expensive. I’m sure they also sell a lot of overpriced crap, but separating that from what’s a good buy is YOUR job, naysayers.
And also, this post made me smile.
After thinking about it, heck, this one even made us happy !
I have actually done something somewhat in the same way. There were two teens in front of me with an ebt card (obviously mom or dads) and they could not cover the expenses. I, myself am a single mother with no help, decided to help. I used my ebt to pay for the kids.
I am glad that I am not the only person out there like that.
lets imagine you are poor as fuck, now lets imagine that you have food allergies. Are ya with me? If I ended up homeless and begging I would probably starve to death because I cant eat 99% of processed foods. people with fewer food issues still need to watch what they eat.
This one made me vomit.
I find it amusing that so many people falsely assume that it is more expensive to shop at trader joes than at a regular supermarket;clearly if these people were regular shoppers a trader joes they would know that almost all of the items for sale are around 30-60% cheaper than anywhere else. (personal care and cleaning supplies included) But I suppose it sounds better to fabricate some false righteousness when you’re making a crappy remark about someone who recieved some kindness when they were down on their luck.
safeway sucks balls! TJ rules!
i think this is the only i, anonymous i’ve ever enjoyed. go karma…
Yes, Roy, let’s encourage the poor to eat food inferior to that consumed by the rich. That just screams america, doesn’t it?
This is one of the best I have read and it’s nice to know that this person exists, I almost gave up hope on mankind too.
I wish people wouldn’t let one angry “man” hijack the comment board.
I think we’ve come to a consensus that TJ’s is cheap. Now let’s move on…
Fuck you Kip.
Maybe the writer should just rent one of your cheap, moldy, shit hole houses. Of course then you’d just suck them dry of any and all their money, leaving them off in a no better situation.
I find it funny you’re telling somebody to get a job. I’d hardly consider your business of taking advantage of low income families and students a “job”. Fuck off and go shine your ugly red clown shoes. Nobody wants to hear you opinion.
*
Reading this I, Anonymous made me smile. Thank you.
Roy:
Please don’t criticize someone for how they spend their food stamps. It is not classy, kind, or even helpful. For one month, I lived primarily off of frozen vegetables, frozen ground chuck, and a giant can of beans due to poverty. You bet your ass the moment I got food stamps I bought some shit that was actually palatable from trader joe’s. It’s good to buy staples with FS, but it’s easy for your entire life to begin feeling mean and impoverished if you’re always eating pesticide-ridden gene-altered cheapo garbage from the save $$ stores (which are especially hard to shop at if you have a restricted diet –vegan, gluten-free, etc.)
I think whoever this I Anonymous is is doing okay. Anyway, at least s/he isn’t shopping at Whole Foods, right?
Reading all other posts should be a requirement to post. This isn’t a fucking tally !
When my car ran out of gas on the freeway and I slowly crept right up to a gas station before it died altogether (YESSSSS!!!!), I discovered that I’d left my wallet at home (CRAP!!!!). I scrounged just enough change for a dollar’s worth of gas (YESSSSSSSSS!!!!! Just enough to get me home!) to give to the person behind the counter. I was counting out the nickels and pennies while people waited in line behind me. The lady right behind me plunked down a five. THANK YOU, lady!!
TJ’s is quite cheap- especially for prefabbed meals. I shop for five. TJ’s is my first stop- then Fred Meyers. Their produce is cheaper- hands down. Safeway stores, and likewise, ad prices don’t compare with tj’s apples and bananas. Tj’s offers organic at less then the price then most stores offer the pesticide produce. I would gladly pay a bit more if only their employees received health bennies and PAID days off- ei x-mas. Both the partner and I are looking at unemployment. We have to scrimp where we can.
How lovely… Thank you for sharing the story and my thanks to your benefactor for adding a little more positive energy to the world… we need all we can get.
And before I forget- Thank you to whomever it was on The Stranger’s staff that chose this submission out of the swamp of foul tirades that are the usual fare for this space… this was a nice change of pace, even though the weekly dose of venom is one of my favorite gulity pleasures.
Trader Joe’s claims to be one of the cheapest stores around, what do you people want??? What a great story.
All these idiots who claim TJ is cheap have apparently not shopped at regular grocery stores. I checked out TJ this weekend just to see how cheap they were, and I was shocked at how pricey everything was. You people need to stop smoking crack and get off your organic hipster high-horses.
Hey Minge, mind telling us exactly what you saw that was pricey? And compared to what other store?
Maybe you’re just used to your Johns giving you some food with your scratch.
Did anyone one notice that one, maybe two, people wrote about TJ’s being expensive. You all let that ass hijack the entire conversation.
Oh yeah..(grumble,grumble)NiceIAnon..Jerks
Your shopping at Trader Joe’s with food stamps?
Has anybody else called bullshit on this yet.
Why don’t you try out Whole Foods next time.
wait a minute, your poor and shop at traders joes, WTF! U better take your ass on over to the welfare office and get the block of free cheese
Maybe you should shop at Grocery Outlet instead of trader joes if you’re so poor. You’re just wasting everyone’s money you fuckin hippy.
This is a great anecdote, uplifting. If you’re poor, you might try shopping at a grocery store where the prices aren’t so friggin’ high. Jeepers.
damn kip!!!!!
Yay! Finally a nice one.
Listen to Kip, he know everything!
Read more about Kip Schoning, a ledgend in his own mind. Google him! It will be fun! There are at least 4 pages of hits (all good reads). Then come back here to vote. Is he in a position to judge who should or should not have kids? Kip has kids, I am sure they will be very proud of daddy (and mommy)when they grow up!
Report as off-topic, spam, false, or abusive.
Listen to Kip, he know everything!
Read more about Kip Schoning, a ledgend in his own mind. Google him! It will be fun! There are at least 4 pages of hits (all good reads). Then come back here to vote. Is he in a position to judge who should or should not have kids? Kip has kids, I am sure they will be very proud of daddy (and mommy)when they grow up!
Report as off-topic, spam, false, or abusive.
Listen to Kip, he know everything!
Read more about Kip, a ledgend in his own mind. Google him! It will be fun! There are at least 4 pages of hits (all good reads). Then come back here to vote. Is he in a position to judge who should or should not have kids? Kip has kids, I am sure they will be very proud of daddy (and mommy)when they grow up!