"He looked ashamed, hungry and broken:" Teen offers to carry groceries in exchange for food

MEMPHIS, Tennessee – A 16-year-old boy in Tennessee is receiving an outpouring of support after he asked to help carry a man’s groceries for him in exchange for food.

Memphis resident Matt White wrote about the experience in a Facebook post that has gone viral.

White says that he was approached by a teenager while shopping for produce at Kroger.  The boy introduced himself as Chauncy Jones, and he offered to help White carry his grocery bags in exchange for a pack of glazed doughnuts.

“He looked ashamed, hungry and broken,” White said.

Jones told White he lived with his mother and this was his only chance to get food that day. White ended up buying him a few grocery bags full of food.

“All the while, we talked and he told me how he makes straight As in school and is trying to get a job to help his mom pay rent. This kid was amazing. Jones kept calling himself poor, but he told me that one day he was gonna be wealthy and own his own businesses so that he could help other people in his neighborhood and buy them groceries like me,” White said.

White gave Jones a ride home, and he saw first-hand that Jones and his mother really didn’t have anything at all – not even beds or furniture.

“As we unpacked the food into their kitchen, you could see the hope coming back into Chauncy's eyes. He knew he wasn't going to be hungry,” White said.

After White’s post went viral, White created a GoFundMe account with a list of things he needs, including money to pay for an ID for Jones so he can apply for jobs and money for a lawnmower so he can work by mowing people’s lawns.