Stranger’s kind act for struggling mum at Woolworths

A Gosford mum was dreading her trip to the supermarket as she knew a lot of things would be outside of her budget – but a kind stranger stepped in.

A single mother overwhelmed by the rising cost of living crisis has been left touched by the kind act of a stranger.

Ree was at her local Woolworths in Gosford on Sunday when she was forced to put items back due to their cost not fitting in her budget.

“The checkout lady was amazingly calm with me [as I] asked to ‘put this back’ or said ‘I won’t get this’ … She was so kind about it,” Ree told Yahoo News Australia.

Ree, who had been incredibly anxious in the lead up to her supermarket visit, said she was thankful for the worker’s understanding.

A stressed mum has been overwhelmed by a stranger's act of kindness. Picture: iStock

But, a stranger then stepped in and decided to pay for everything that Ree felt she had to put back.

The young mum cried at the stranger’s act of kindness – and kept trying to tell the other woman it was unnecessary.

But, the woman insisted.

“I explained my situation to her and she said she knew how it felt to not be able to pay for things in the past,” she said.

Ree said that the gesture meant “everything” to her.

The food and grocery prices at Australia’s two supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles have surged by a whopping 9.6 per cent in April, according to a new report.

Common grocery items including Vegemite, peanut butter and yoghurt have soared higher in cost compared to overall inflation of 7 per cent, the report from investment bank UBS also found.

The analysis of more than 60,000 items at the supermarkets, which has been disputed by Coles, found the 9.6 per cent price increase to groceries had hit a new high.

It also sparked fears that there was no relief in sight for Australians struggling with rising food costs and other cost of living pressures.

She was at her local Woolies. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Fresh food, in particular, contributed to the huge increase in prices as costs skyrocketed by 9.9 per cent – however UBS predicted this would drop in the coming months as supply levels improved.

A Coles spokesperson said the UBS’s report was “not an accurate reflection” of how the supermarket giant calculates and reports inflation.

“UBS’s sample data does not capture our full range of products and does not capture changes in customer buying behaviours which impact our sales volumes and product mix,” they said. “This is integral to capturing an accurate reflection of overall supermarket inflation. UBS used the same price tracker for a report ahead of the third quarter 2023 results and reported Coles’ inflation at 9 per cent.

“Our official inflation figure was reported significantly lower at 6.2 per cent.”

A Woolworths spokesperson said the supermarket chain recognised that cost of living pressures are being felt by its customers and team and it continued to help them save each time they shop.