Maplewood Woman Grateful After Stranger Helps Out With Grocery Bill

MAPLEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A woman from Maplewood is hoping to find a stranger whose random act of kindness lifted her up out of a tough time.

As CBS2's Jessica Layton explained, if you want proof of what a good deed at the grocery store can do, Sara Hall's smile is your receipt.

"Thank you," she said, "You have no idea how much this means to me."

Until Saturday, the Maplewood woman was feeling about as bad as she's ever felt. She was lonely, broke, and deep in a frustrating search for a job.

"It was a bad day in a string of bad days," she said.

Things got worse when she didn't have enough money in food stamps to cover the cost of her groceries. She used a debit card to pay, but needed the money for rent. When she tried to return some of the items at customer service, a stranger gave her $30 she needed out of the blue.

Hall felt like she hit the lottery.

"She just put it in my hand, put my hand around it and take it, and just walked away," she said.

Hall was so stunned she didn't even get the name of the woman who helped her. She said if she happens to see this story, she wants her to know that she didn't only give her $30 -- she gave her hope.

"Picked me up and kept me going in a really rough time right now," she said.

The story at the South Orange Stop & Shop had customers stopping and thinking about being kind.

"Acts of kindness is good -- pass it on," one shopper said.

"It's great, it's great. I hope more people start doing this," another added.

While Sara is not sure how she'll pay it forward, she said she hopes to be able to change someone else's world the way the Stop & Shop stranger changed hers.