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Arkansas Woman Surprises Shoppers, Spends Nearly $30,000 On Their Groceries

December 28, 2020

A woman in Arkansas surprised local families by paying for over $28,000 worth of groceries at two Kroger locations.

Ashley Ann Jones, 35, got the idea to surprise people by paying for their groceries after hearing news stories about how long lines were at food banks and how many were running out of resources, leading people to have to show up early in order to get food, she told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Jones purchased the groceries at two Kroger stores in Little Rock.

Joseph Mayo, a manager at the East Roosevelt Road store, said the purchases were "a great Christmas gift" for customers.

"They'd come up and we'd say your groceries are paid for and they'd be like 'Are you serious? Really?'", Mayo said.

Jones, who owns a business production company and social media strategy firm, regularly gives back to the community. She does a holiday bill-pay every year for her followers on social media.

This year she gave away $35,000 in cash increments of $250, $500 and $1,000 to help her followers with bills, she said.

She set aside $30,000 to help in the community.