Grocery shopping has become a budgeting challenge for many families, with every beep at the checkout adding up.
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According to the USDA, a family of four is spending anywhere from about $1,000 to $1,600 each month on groceries.
So Channel 2 Action News and Family to Family decided to lend a helping hand.
Channel 2’s Fred Blankenship surprised shoppers at Kroger by offering to pay for everything in their carts.
One of those shoppers was Shenequa Sanders, a Stockbridge mother of three girls, ages 13, 14 and 16.
When Fred asked if he could buy her groceries, she couldn’t believe it.
“Are you serious?” Shenequa asked.
Fred assured her there were no strings attached.
“You’re gonna just pay for all this?” she asked.
“Yes,” Fred replied, even asking if she needed anything else.
“This will be enough, thank you,” Shenequa said.
As the groceries were scanned and the receipt printed, Shenequa talked about how she manages her family’s grocery budget.
“Coupons are still great,” she said. “Digital coupons make it easier.”
She also shared a simple philosophy for dealing with risng prices.
“The prices, you don’t get to control them, so what do you do? You budget for them,” she said.
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Channel 2 Consumer Adviser Clark Howard agrees that coupons and store apps can make a difference.
Clark says shoppers can find additional savings by using apps from stores including Kroger, Lidl and BJ’s Wholesale.
“It’s a discount on top of a discount,” Clark said.
Blankenship and Sanders even had a little trouble getting everything scanned before calling in some reinforcements.
But eventually, they got it done.
The final total: $158.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Sanders said.
Blankenship called it “the best $158 that we have spent today.”
The surprise ended with a hug — and a new friendship.
“We are now lifelong friends,” Fred joked.
Shenequa responded with a thank-you and named Fred her favorite scanner of the day.
And Shenequa wasn’t the only shopper Channel 2 Action News was able to help.
The team surprised multiple people at the store and even helped out at the gas pump.
Those stories and reactions are coming in the weeks ahead.
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