Early morning shoppers were pleasantly surprised to find out that when they went to pay for their groceries at the Stop & Shop in Provincetown, an anonymous benefactor had covered their costs.

Truro resident Cheryl Patterson, who wanted to beat the crowds, arrived at the store in the early hours of Saturday morning and was confused initially when the cashier said that she couldn’t pay for her groceries, according to the Cape Cod Times.

Patterson asked the cashier why she couldn’t pay, according to the newspaper. She learned an anonymous Provincetown resident came forward to pay for all the groceries.

“I was initially speechless,” said Patterson in an interview with the Cape Cod Times. “There aren’t even words to describe this.”

Both the Cashier and Patterson broke into tears after the exchange and by the charity shown by the donor on Easter Sunday, the newspaper reported.

Stop & Shop store Manager Melinda McCarthy, told the Cape Cod Times that she received a call on Good Friday. The caller had a man’s voice and was asking about the numbers of shoppers that come into the store in the early morning.

The generous benefactor bought $5,000 in gift cards that went towards the shoppers that came in between 6 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. The time when the store is set aside for the elderly population.

McCarthy told the Cape Cod Times that many of the shoppers were confused and surprised by the gift.

McCarthy went on to describe a lady that couldn’t hold back tears of joy after telling staff at the Stop & Shop that she ran out of her government assistance for food and was about to use everything she had to buy the groceries.

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