Anonymous person buys $82,000 in gift cards from Iowa town's grocery and restaurants, gives to all 549 households

Earlham, in Madison County, Iowa.
(Wikipedia map)

Talk about buying local.

Earlham, Iowa, a town of about 1,450 near Des Moines, has been hurting like much of the nation. Residents have been laid off or furloughed from their jobs because of the pandemic, and many are struggling to pay the bills, Cathy Free reports for The Washington Post.

But on March 26, someone called Mayor Jeff Lillie and said he had a friend who wanted to remain anonymous and pump money into the local economy. The donor bought $82,350 in gift cards from the local grocery and the two local restaurants, and sent them to every one of the 549 homes in the town. That breaks down to $150 per household, with $50 each for the grocery and restaurants.

In the days after the call, city employees stuffed envelopes with the gift cards, and Lillie included a letter explaining the situation and promising it wasn't a scam. He also thoughtfully invited residents who didn't need the cards to drop them off at City Hall to be given to families who live in the school district but outside the city limits, Free reports.

Assistant City Clerk Amy Willem, a single mother of three who helped distribute the gift cards, told Free that the gesture meant a lot to her. "Like everyone, I've had to cut back a little," Willem said, "and getting some takeout for dinner is a treat. To know that there's somebody out there who wanted to anonymously help everyone in town just warmed my heart."