CICERO, N.Y. — Jacquelyn Penizotto walked up to a cooler and grabbed the last two cartons of eggs.
It was Sunday, and Penizotto, of Cicero, was on her weekly grocery run at the Wegmans in Cicero. She was buying two cartons of 18 large eggs, items that always makes her weekly shopping list. But for many of her fellow shoppers, it was not a normal weekend shopping day.
Panic over the spread of the coronavirus pandemic has led Central New Yorkers to flock to grocery stores in droves. Shoppers have been stocking up on everything from toilet paper to pasta, leaving store shelves thin or — in some cases — bare.
The scene was no different Sunday at the Brewerton Road Wegmans.
After grabbing the last two egg cartons from the cooler, Penizotto said she turned around and saw a woman waiting. Penizotto said she offered the woman one of her cartons.
Are you sure? the woman asked.
Absolutely, Penizotto said.
The women parted ways, Penizotto said, and continued to shop.
“I would have done it if we weren’t in a time of crisis,” Penizotto said. “The thought of what’s going on didn’t even cross my mind.”
When Penizotto got to the checkout line, she said she noticed the woman she’d given the eggs to in the line next to her. She put her groceries onto the belt and pulled up Apple Pay on her phone.
But when the cashier was done scanning her groceries, the cashier told her she had to cancel the transaction, Penizotto said. The cashier then pulled a $100 bill from her drawer, Penizotta said, and shared some news: The woman in the other line — the woman Penizotto had given a carton of eggs to — wanted to pay for her groceries.
“I was in complete shock. No words came out of my mouth,” she said. “I got goosebumps."
With her daughter in her cart, Penizotto said she rushed out of the store to try to find and thank the woman. But she was already gone.
Penizotto said she was so touched that she decided to post about the dual acts of kindness on Facebook. Her post has over 11,000 likes and has been shared over 7,300 times.
The response to her post has been “amazing,” Penizotto said.
“Random acts of kindness are what keep faith and strength within our community,” she said. “I think it gave people hope that even the smallest acts of kindness are what help us all get through this time of crisis.”
MORE ON CORONAVIRUS
- List of CNY schools closing
- A county-by-county map of cases, deaths in New York State
- How fast is coronavirus growing in New York?
- Here are the latest closings of events
Thanks for visiting Syracuse.com. Quality local journalism has never been more important, and your subscription matters. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.
Have a tip, a story idea or a comment? You can reach me at shouse@syracuse.com.