Church in Derry, Pennsylvania, accused of charging $20 for boxes filled with groceries and donated items: ‘I feel like you’re scamming people’
She got less than what she paid for.
GrunBun90 (@grunbun90) went to a church in Derry, Pennsylvania, hoping to strike it lucky with a $200 grocery loot box. Instead, she alleged she received groceries worth less than $20 and that the pastor turned her away.
“They advertised that the middle-class America, you donate $20 for a donation, and it buys your food for the next few weeks, because it is a $175-200 value for this box of food,” GrunBun told TikTok. She chose to show what she got in the box instead.
“I donated my $20, and I got a four-and-a-half-pound bag of Chick-fil-A fillets and twelve biscuits,” the woman said, gesturing to the two plastic bags on her table. She said that they were donated by a Chick-fil-A program called ‘Shared Table.’ In addition to the biscuits and fillets, GrunBun also received one can of cream and chicken soup, a six-pack of Clover Valley toaster pastries, oatmeal cookies, a bag of popcorn, a fist-sized donated dessert from an unnamed bakery, a liter of Crush soda, and six rolls of toilet paper.
“Now, because me and Dylan were so excited at the prospect of getting $200 worth of food for 20 bucks, because that would save our family of nine so much, he got one as well,” GrunBun shared. She said her partner received a five-pound pack of deer meat, allegedly donated by local hunters. He also got one cinnamon roll, a pound of oatmeal, a pack of fudge cookies, a six-pack of Clover Valley toaster pastries, chicken noodle soup, Chick-fil-A waffles, and a Mountain Dew Baja Blast.
“Please, tell me who? Who is getting that to stretch? That is not $200 worth of food,” GrunBun alleged. She was disappointed because she thought her family would receive a good deal on groceries.
A church under fire
“We are not looking for a handout. We were not like, ‘Give us free s***.’ We were thinking, because they advertised it, that we would get a $200 grocery value for $20,” she said. GrunBun said she raised the concern with the church’s pastor because she felt deceived by the program. At times, value deals can be overpromising, as one sociology student pointed out while examining Dollar Tree rice packaging. But in this church’s case, GrunBun alleged that the pastor told her off after she expressed her frustration.
“We are not a food bank, and I’m done with you, so go,” GrunBun recalled the pastor’s alleged remark. She further alleged that the pastor claimed that the 4.5-pound bags of Chick-fil-A fillets were worth $100, and that he paid $50 out of pocket for each bag.
But GrunBun cited the Chick-fil-A ‘Shared Table’ program to dispute the pastor’s claim. According to the Chick-fil-A website, Chick-fil-A restaurants pack their surplus food. Then, they donate it to local organizations as a charitable act. These organizations include food banks, churches, and non-profits.
“Meaning, they get these for free,” GrunBun argued. The pastor allegedly tried to appease her by offering another bag of chicken. However, GrunBun clarified that it wasn’t about the chicken.
Feeling robbed
She was upset that the church allegedly advertised its program incorrectly. “People are gonna come here, thinking that this $20 is worth $200, and it just isn’t,” she added. Based on her Google searches and ChatGPT queries, GrunBun believes she was handed dollar-store items worth less than $20.
“I feel like you’re scamming people. I’m sorry,” GrunBun commented. But she isn’t the only one who felt robbed. Another woman from Florida took her dying cat to a vet, only for them to serve her a $700 bill before treating her pet.
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