Cashier Shames Woman for Not Having Enough Food Stamps Until Angry Shoppers Step In

Cashier Shames Woman for Not Having Enough Food Stamps Until Angry Shoppers Step In
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You may or may not agree with people relying on food stamps to buy their groceries, but there is a fact we can all agree on—these people are still human beings who need to eat.

If you saw a lady who couldn’t afford her groceries as she didn’t have enough food stamps, would you sympathize with her plight, or would you look down on her?

In this episode of ABC’s What Would You Do?, we see that most everyone sympathizes with the lady. Don’t forget, these are real people. The only actors are the cashier and the lady trying to pay her bill. So, the reactions from the onlooking customers are all genuine, some are quite touching in fact. When the lady’s food stamps’ card doesn’t cut it, the cashier tells her she’s $12 short.

“Do you have any coupons you could run through?” asks the customer.

“No, not really,” says the cashier. “It’s coming out of my pocket, I don’t think that’s right.”

As she’s saying this, the next customer in line makes a few sideways glances. She’s listening to everything.

“I’m trying...” adds the customer.

“How hard?” the cashier retorts back. “Do you have a job?”

“I used to have a job, I lost my job. I had to go on government assistance,” explains the lady. “There’s nothing you can do?”

Illustration - Getty Images | <a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/yera-dominguez-receives-a-credit-card-from-a-customer-for-news-photo/87874735">Joe Raedle</a>
Illustration - Getty Images | Joe Raedle

Just as the cashier shakes her head and says “no,” the next customer in line interjects. “How much is it?” she asks.

“I'll pick it up for you,” the kind customer clarifies.

As the cashier tests the lady’s reaction some more by asking her for her thoughts on the matter, the customer says, “Mind your business, okay? Let me handle what I gotta handle, okay?”

The cashier tries to tell her that she doesn’t need to help, but the customer won’t have a bar of it.

“What I do with my money is none of your business. Okay? So, you do your job, and let me do what I need to do.”

“It’s just, I don’t agree with this system,” responds the cashier.

“Well, I don’t care if you agree with it or not.”

Just as things heat up to a point it’s best not to let it simmer further, show host John Quiñones makes his appearance.

It seems the customer knows the show for she has a big smile on her face when she sees Quiñones. She appears relieved to find out it’s all been a social experiment.

The mood lightens and everything is savvy.

When asked why she stepped in to help, the lady says she couldn’t ignore the situation. She knows how it feels to not have enough money to buy food, as she’s been in that situation before. Moreover, it “would’ve broke my heart,” she says, to have just ignored the other lady, knowing that she had some money to help.

It’s an interesting social experiment, and there’s a few more to come. Watch the whole episode below to see some more reactions. Look out for the guy who comes next too!

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