When a homeless woman wandered into Raising Cane’s, a fast-food chain known for their chicken fingers and began quietly asking customers if she could eat any of their leftovers, everyone ignored her as if she didn’t exist. Thankfully, a kindhearted customer named Carmen Mendez took notice and planned to do something about it.
Carmen decided that if she saw the woman again before she and her boyfriend left the restaurant, she’d give her her leftover food. “As I was gonna throw away my one leftover chicken strip and like five fries, I heard a very quiet voice ask me if I had anything left. I turned around and it was her,” Carmen wrote in a Facebook post.Yet, even after giving the stranger her leftovers, something still didn’t feel right.
“A couple of days ago, we went to eat late at night at Raising Cane’s, and as we waited for our order, I saw this homeless lady walk in asking people that were throwing away their leftovers if she could have them. Not one person said yes, they all ignored her and threw it away, it broke my heart. I have been volunteering with the homeless now for many years… they don’t repulse me or make me sick to my stomach. I hold them all with so much love.”
“I gave her my food and watched her sit and eat it… but something didn’t feel right. I felt like a horrible human being feeding her my leftover chicken strip… she deserved so much more… so I bought her a whole meal… she deserved to eat a hot meal.”
“When I ordered the meal, I asked the employee for a huge favor to please do not kick her out as we waited. I could already see the disgust on people’s faces as she sat at the table eating the leftovers I had given her… news flash, people, not all homeless people smell like roses.”
“She was getting ready to get up and leave when I surprised her with this meal… the look on her face said it all. I have never felt something like this… pure, real gratitude.
“That hug she gave me was like a hug I had never felt… those tears she shed were felt deep in my heart. I held her tight and let her let it out. I wasn’t repulsed by it. I just held her. And that is a moment I will never ever forget. So next time you judge a homeless person, think twice… not all of them are homeless because of a drug addiction or because they are lazy.”
Would you have helped out the homeless woman like Carmen did? Let us know in the comments below, and please SHARE this amazing story with your friends on Facebook.
[Featured image credit: Facebook/Carmen Mendez]