When a busy H-E-B lost power, store told Texans gathering supplies to 'go ahead' without paying

“All of the sudden the power goes out, and you hear curse words and people sighing.” Sound familiar? It’s a scene that’s played out in homes across Texas. But this time, it was at the H-E-B Plus on U.S. 183, says Shelby Lasker. 

Lasker, who lives in Leander and works in childcare, said she was at the grocery store Tuesday afternoon when the power went out. She was there hoping to get supplies as winter storms wrought havoc in the Austin area.  

More from Austin360:Review: 'Nomadland' is a film for all of us left out in the cold

It wasn’t as crowded as some of the worst pictures people have seen on social media this week, but still, the store was busy. Lasker had been in line for about 30 minutes and was 10 people away from checking out when everything went dark. That included the payment terminals, and as Lasker points out, a lot of people don’t pay for groceries with cash these days. 

But Lasker didn’t leave empty-handed.  

“You just hear (people at) registers say, ‘Go ahead,” she says. The Leander H-E-B staff let the people in line “leave with baskets of groceries, no bags.” Lasker says she saw probably 20-30 people leave with baskets of supplies.  

“I think they could tell how upset people were,” she says. 

Lasker says she was able to get chicken, bread, bacon, macaroni and cheese, milk, cornbread and other staples. She also got juice and Lunchables for her 4-year-old son, Tegan. Like the vast majority of Central Texans, Lasker says her family has dealt with power outages and water issues at home this week. 

More:These Austin restaurants, businesses are serving free meals this week

The grocery generosity was an example of “just how amazing H-E-B has been through the pandemic,” she says. 

The American-Statesman has reached out to H-E-B for comment but has not received a response. The grocery chain’s Twitter account confirmed that another story posted to Twitter that sounds similar to Lasker’s was true. 

More:Where to get free water at Texas stores and businesses

The Washington Post reports that customers were spurred to kindness of their own that day. Tim Hennessy, a customer whose post about the Leander H-E-B's generosity also went viral, told the news outlet that people helped each other as carts and cars got stuck in the snow in the parking lot that afternoon. 

“Everybody started helping each other,” Hennessy told the Post, also adding that he called H-E-B on Friday to ask about the company's preferred charities, wanting to pay forward the cost he would have spent on his groceries.

Find out which Austin-area grocery stores are open at austin360.com.

News:10 questions answered on Austin's water and power crisis