Fresno mom denied additional milk purchases due to store policy. Then a stranger stepped up

A Fresno mom left a local grocery store in tears last week after her attempt to buy additional gallons of milk was denied.

This story, however, ended with the store employees and customers crying, too.

Amid concerns of hoarding due to the coronavirus outbreak, stores such as the Smart & Final implemented policies to limit how many particular items customers could buy.

In this case, Sophie Jurado-Vang was trying to buy four gallons of milk for her family of six — soon to be seven.

There’s Jurado-Vang (who’s pregnant), her husband, her 2-year old and 3-year-old daughters, as well as her two in-law parents.

Jurado-Vang said she had just driven to three others stores in town Wednesday in search of milk when she finally arrived at the Smart & Final near Marks and Shaw avenues.

Upon walking in, she immediately asked and received confirmation from an employee that the store indeed had milk.

Jurado-Vang rushed over to the milk aisle and placed four gallons in her shopping cart, relieved she’d have enough milk to last the next two weeks during Fresno’s shelter-in-place ordinance that had been announced earlier that day.

“My daughters love milk and they love to eat cereal,” Jurado-Vang recalled telling the cashier and others in line. “My youngest daughter eats two bowls of cereal for breakfast, has it for snacks, eats it for dinner.

“And my father in-law, he has a strict diet that requires a lot of milk because he’s on dialysis. I was just buying our usual essentials to last us the couple of weeks.”

But when it was time for Jurado-Vang to pay, a bagger reminded the cashier the store policy that customers were limited to only two gallons of milk per purchase.

Jurado-Vang said she was not aware of the rule but didn’t put up a fuss.

“I was just happy I found some milk,” Jurado-Vang said. “Two gallons go quickly in my house. But it was better than nothing.”

The cashier informed another employee that the extra milk needed to be restocked when a man in another line overheard the conversation and asked if he could just buy the milk himself since he didn’t have any in his cart.

Jurado-Vang freely handed them over.

“Yeah, of course, times are tough,” Jurado-Vang said to the man and his girlfriend, who was standing next to him. “It’s hard finding the items you want and need.”

Then as Jurado-Vang finished up paying, the man walked toward her and handed over the two gallons of milk.

“He said: ‘These are your milks. These are for your babies,’” Jurado-Vang recalled. “I let out this big ol’ ugly cry. I didn’t know this man. Never seen him before.

“I told him I have money. I can pay him. And he said, ‘No, no.’ I looked at his girlfriend. She was smiling and kind of crying. I asked if it was OK if I gave him a hug. And I gave this man who I’ve never met before a big ol’ hug.”

Soon after, a tearful Jurado-Vang looked around and said she noticed both the cashier and bagger in tears, as well as other customers crying — all witnesses to the random act of kindness.

The pregnant Jurado-Vang became more emotional and looked toward the back of the line to address an older couple.

While waiting in line, Jurado-Vang said she overheard the older couple talking poorly about the unknown man’s appearance because he had tattoos and long braids.

“You see who this man is and what he just did,” Jurado-Vang recalled telling the couple.

Then Jurado-Vang turned her attention back to the man.

“You’re such a good man,” Jurado-Vang said. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

To which the man replied: “God is good. We’ve all got to get through this.”

Jurado-Vang said she never got the man’s name but would like to thank him once more and tell him she remains thankful.

‘When I see my kids drinking the milk, I start to cry all over again,” Jurado-Vang said. “In times like these, we could all use a little more love, a little more compassion.”

This story was originally published March 22, 2020 at 2:12 AM.