In Sweden, Maine, the local food pantry holds a yearly fundraiser called the Full Side of Beef Raffle. The name says it all. People in the community buy raffle tickets — and the person who wins the raffle gets a full side of beef, which can end up being up to 350 pounds of meat.
This year, the big winner was Jeanne Ouellette — who donated the prize back to the Sweden Food Pantry to help feed families in need.
The Executive Director of the food pantry described Jeanne’s donation as “an extraordinary act of kindness.”
While Jeanne admits she was surprised and thrilled to win, it was also an easy decision to give the food back. “I never win anything, but I wanted to support the pantry,” she said. “When my name was called, I was amazed — but I immediately knew I wanted the beef to go to the pantry and its shoppers.”