In Pennsylvania, there is a grocery store that threw away $35,000 worth of food after a woman pulled a prank. She came into the store and coughed on the food as a joke.
A Facebook post by Gerrity’s Supermarket broke the news and Fox News picked it up and reported on it as well. Joe Fasula is the co-owner of the store who wrote the post that said a woman came in and coughed on items in the produce aisle. Apparently, she had been a “chronic problem in the community” of Hanover Township, PA for a while.
According to the post, she had coughed on “fresh produce, and a small section of our bakery, meat case, and grocery” in what employees feel is a “twisted prank.” After it took place, the store threw away an estimated $35,000 worth of groceries before cleaning and disinfecting the area with the help of a health inspector.
***Update ****Our produce department was fully stocked by 2 PM today (Thursday). Thank you to everyone who worked so…
Posted by Gerrity's Supermarket on Wednesday, March 25, 2020
After the case was taken to the District Attorney’s Office, a press release was issued on the matter. They said the woman is “being evaluated at a local hospital for a mental health evaluation.” They also said that criminal charges are being filed.
Fasula is hopeful that the loss will be covered by the insurance company but they hate to waste so much food when people are having a hard time finding groceries.
“I am also absolutely sick to my stomach about the loss of food. While it is always a shame when food is wasted, in these times when so many people are worried about the security of our food supply, it is even more disturbing,” he wrote.
He went on to say good things about the hard work his employees did both before and after it took place. He also found a silver lining, because he ended the post with: “One thing is for sure, we will have the cleanest display and freshest produce anywhere in northeast PA.”