A little. 2020 was, well, 2020. Recent events, well, I don’t like to watch the news because I end up crying, a lot. Then I see stories like this that make me happy, proud even, to be a human being.

This story, I found on Yahoo News, is about a Texas school district opening a free grocery store to help disadvantaged students. The on-site store, was created by Paul Juarez, who is the executive director of First Refuge’s Ministries. The idea is that even though it’s a food pantry, it looks like a ‘regular’ grocery store and people shop with a card they get from the store and use that to pay, just like anywhere else. The thought being, this way, people can feel good about shopping there, it doesn’t feel like a hand out, and as Juarez says, “we can keep dignity in people”

Everyone can shop there, no matter what. They pay with points, which are loaded onto the card each week, and the number of points based on the size of their family and each item is one to three points. Students can also earn more points in different ways in school and on campus. I loved that he said the goal of the point system is to help keep people from feeling embarrassed about needing help. If someone doesn’t need or want to use the points, they can be donated, pay it forward.

Juarez is also hoping to try to make this program take off, he’s already spoken to school officials in other states. The end of the article was the most empowering statement “If the school district can be so important like that, we can change a community,” he said. “And if we can change a community, we can change an area. And then, if we change an area, we can change the state. If we can change the state, we can change the country. If we can change the country, we can change the world.”

With everything that is happening today, not only in our country, but in the world, we need good people and feel-good stories like these to help give us hope, even if it’s just a glimmer. This gives me hope for humanity and 2021. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for more! What’s next?!