HOUSTON — When times get tough in Houston, we know how to step up and help our neighbors.
That's what happened at a Houston store as temperatures plummeted during the winter storm of 2021.
With so many people dealing with power outages and the loss of water, Houstonians searched stores for necessities. That's when the Harris County Sheriff's Office Public Affairs Officer witnessed something that will warm your soul.
Jason Spencer said he was searching for water when he found a store on 18th Street and Ella that was open.
The line of customers was long, but he said the cashiers worked tirelessly to ring up as many people as they could.
Then the power went out.
The store wasn't about to close, though, and instead said they would remain open, but would only be able to accept cash and asked customers to limit their purchases to essential items only.
Spencer said many of the people in line didn't have cash on them and were prepared to leave.
That's when he said, "something cool happened."
A man was walking down the line, talking with everyone. He was handing them something, but Spencer said he couldn't tell what it was at first.
As he got closer, Spencer realized the man had a stack of money and was handing out $20 bills to anyone who needed cash to get what they needed.
A lot of the people accepted the money, including a 69-year-old diabetic man who was in line with his service dog named Trouble.
Spencer said the man with the money didn't wait around to be thanked, he just kept going down the line to help as many people as he could. No photos. No glory. Just pure, kind-hearted help for those in need.
Spencer said he thinks the man gave away at least $500 before leaving.
"On behalf of everyone who got to witness the grocery store staff and the Foodarama Angel in action today, thank you," Spencer said in his series of tweets describing the moment. "God bless Houston. We live in a city of beautiful people."
Read Spencer's story in the series of tweets below:
