The owner of a Mexican deli and grocery store responded in a surprising way after security footage caught a man allegedly stealing food on Monday night from his establishment, offering to give the apparent thief groceries if he is truly in need.
“To the guy that decided to take merchandize out the back door on Monday night without paying, we do our share by helping our veterans in our community, help our homeless shelters, schools, and other charities,” Sergio De Leon, owner of De Leon Foods, Inc., wrote in a Facebook Post.
But the businessman wasn’t done there.
Based on what the alleged thief took — milk, tamales and other groceries — the owner said it appeared as though the purported perpetrator has a family, and made an offer to step in and help.
“If you are in need, please come and see me and I will see that your family gets these groceries without you getting in trouble,” he wrote, proceeding to share video of the security footage.
As it turns out, De Leon knows what it’s like to be in need, telling KHQ-TV he grew up going to Texas food banks with his dad. Exuding compassion, he explained, “Everybody goes through hard times. I was there myself.”
De Leon said he shared the Facebook message to tell the alleged thief that there are places he can go for help, and said he’s more than willing to make his store one of those locations. Despite the outpouring of support for De Leon’s generosity, he said he doesn’t want any credit.
“I don’t want to get any credit,” he told KHQ-TV. “I know this individual is in need and we want to help him out somehow.”
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