HOUSTON, Texas — Sometimes it pays to procrastinate.
Wednesday night, some last-minute shoppers in southeast Houston got a surprise they won’t soon forget. Their groceries were completely paid for by a local chapter of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
Last minute grocery shopping on the day before Thanksgiving, you can expect to be full of emotion - maybe some anger, frustration or even stress.
“I’m here trying to get my last three turkeys because someone called me at the last minute," shopper Cheryl Cameron said.
“Just came for last-minute stuff. My daughter decided to get extra sides for tomorrow which I wasn’t prepared for so I had to come in and get last-minute items," shopper Angie said.
But inside the Kroger on Telephone Road, there were emotions you wouldn’t expect.
“Shocking, gratifying, surprising. I told him I said, I almost want to cry. It’s just amazing, it’s beautiful," shopper Isabel Doniz said.
Now part of their yearly tradition, The Rho Beta Beta Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity was stopping shoppers at check out to ask them a very unexpected question.
“Do you mind if I pay for your groceries?"
"Everybody is getting ready to bring their families and friends together, and we just want to make sure that is they’re giving thanks and being able to celebrate, we want to be a part of that," member Adam Jones said.
The reactions were much like you’d expect.
“That was actually awesome that they were able to do that, it was great," Angie said.
"It was wonderful," Cameron said.
For some shoppers, it was the cherry on top of the pumpkin pie.
“To be blessed to have this happen to me, and someday I hope to turn around and give this to someone else, this is just amazing," Doniz said.
For others, it was so much more.
“Like I said, I thank y'all very much," shopper June Abram said.
Ms. Abram’s daughter is at home with cancer. Having someone pay for her groceries was not only unexpected, it was emotional.
“This blessing that they gave us, it can never, never repay anything that I can do for y'all. And I promise you that. And I thank y'all. I thank them so much," Abram said.
Wednesday night, the fraternity gave away $7,500 in groceries, but they're not stopping there. They plan to do this again before Christmas. In all, they hope to give away $25,000.