Stranger’s kind act for struggling mum at Woolworths left her in tears

A single mum has revealed the heartwarming act of a stranger who stepped in to pay for her groceries when she realised she couldn’t afford them at the checkout.

Ree from Gosford on NSW’s Central Coast had been struggling to make ends meet due to rising cost of living pressures mixed with personal issues.

On Sunday she visited her local Woolworths store and realised when she got to the checkout that she didn’t have enough money to afford her trolley’s worth of groceries.

As the single mum scrambled to work out what items she could discard from her shop, the kindness of a stranger took over.

Ree said a stranger insisted they pay for the goods she couldn’t afford as she went to put them back, bringing the struggling single mum to tears (stock image)

Ree told Yahoo News the generosity of strangers as she offloaded goods that she ‘couldn’t afford’ was deeply touching, as was the staff’s patience.

‘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 said.

‘The lady behind me asked the cashier to ring up everything I had put back because she was going to pay for them for me.. I walked out crying,’ she said.

The single mother said the gesture meant ‘everything’ to her as the stranger insisted that she pay for all the items that Ree couldn’t afford.

‘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.

‘From the bottom of my heart thank you for making a truly awful situation so much easier in the moment.’

The Salvation Army’s latest research found that out of 1,700 people who use the foundation’s services, 93 per cent were struggling to afford basic living necessities.

Of those using the charity’s services, 50 per cent can’t afford essential healthcare, and just over half are skipping meals.

The Salvation Army’s latest research found that out of 1,700 people who use the foundation’s services, 93 per cent were struggling to afford basic living necessities (pictured: Woolworths trolley)

More than three in four people included in the report are living on incomes below the poverty line.

Meanwhile, nearly 90 per cent had either struggled to pay bills, skipped meals, sought financial assistance or had to sell their possessions just to make ends meet.

The same number was relying on welfare payments and 80 per cent of those receiving Centrelink were living in households below the poverty line.

The poverty line in Australia based on 50 per cent of median household income ranged from $489 per week for a single person to $1,027 per week for a couple with two children, according to a report from the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) and UNSW.

The majority of respondents in the Salvation Army report said they found it hard to afford groceries, fuel, transport, clothes and healthcare, as well as paying their electricity and gas bills.

Rising rental prices have also taken a toll with one quarter unable to pay their rent or mortgage, with three in five saying their rent is unaffordable.

Half of the 1,700 interviewed couldn’t afford basic medical care like dentists or even prescribed medication.