A couple celebrating St. Valentine’s Day, who wanted to give back to elderly residents of Fordham Manor, spent some of the day attempting to hand out eight $25 gift cards at their local supermarket to surprised and grateful shoppers.

 

Early on Sunday morning, Feb. 14, Joseph Riley and his wife of ten years, Monique Ferguson-Riley, showed up at the Food Universe on East 194th Street, between Marion Avenue and Bainbridge Avenue, and handed out the $25 Visa gift cards to customers walking down the aisles, or at the checkout line.

 

Ferguson-Riley was born in Miami and raised in New York, while Riley was born in Houston. The couple met back in 2008 in Saint Paul, Minnesota where they both worked at a Borders bookstore. The chain closed in 2011, and the couple now live in The Bronx. According to Ferguson-Riley, today, the couple are “proud business owners, parents and (are) thriving” in their marriage.

 

The two run the Freedom Youth Family Justice Center, Inc., a nonprofit based on Broadway in Manhattan, whose ongoing work with combating human trafficking and domestic violence has previously been reported on by the Norwood News.

As he scouted for potential shoppers to whom he could hand out some of the gift cards, Riley was overheard by the Norwood News, which filmed the occasion, telling Food Universe manager, Jose Mimya, “I come here all the time, so I figured we’d do a little something in the area.”

Mimya was asked if anyone ever handed out gift cards at Food Universe in the ten-plus years it’s been in business. Referring to a woman at the checkout counter to whom Ferguson-Riley had just handed a gift card, he replied, “Here? No, but that woman was really happy.”

 

Explaining the reason behind the giveaway, the nonprofit founder said, “Basically, I have an older neighbor downstairs, and she’s often times in need of help or just wanting a conversation with people, so I was thinking of her and other people like her that are often left out, and don’t have anybody during Valentine’s day or on special days.”

 

Ferguson-Riley continued, “So, I just wanted to come out here and help some older people that are in need and helping towards their food. Some people reacted real funny, but I’m assuming they didn’t want to be on camera. Other people really appreciated getting the gift card.”

Meanwhile, when asked if this was their first time giving to strangers, Riley replied, “No, it’s not our first time… one of the things we do is combat human trafficking and domestic violence, but we love to give back. Our motto is always, if we get something, we try our best to give what we have back, so that’s what it’s about.”

 

As hard as it is to make a dollar, it’s apparently just as hard to give away cash. At one point, Riley was seen approaching one female shopper near the fruit counter. He politely waited for another person to pass between them, and then began to get a bit closer to the woman than the recommended, 6-foot, social distancing threshold. Despite the fact that he was wearing the required face covering, the woman seemed to be a bit suspicious of Riley’s motives.

 

As he attempted his pitch, telling the woman, “I work with a nonprofit…” the woman shook her head, and said, “No.” He tried to continue, “No, listen. You don’t want this? It’s $25 off your purchase.” The woman again shook her head and repeated, “No.”

 

Riley did not push the matter, and walked away with a regretful smile, saying, “It’s weird, it’s a $25 gift card… trying to spread a little cheer, a little spirit of love in the season of love, but we’ll continue to find somebody,” and he walked back down the aisle.

 

Meanwhile, Ferguson-Riley said that she shops at the store because Food Universe didn’t raise their prices dramatically when the pandemic hit, unlike other stores in the area. “It’s a good store and I like to shop here,” she added.

 

After a few more refusals of his goodwill donation, Riley said he believed some shoppers may have been undocumented, and as such, may have been wary of being recorded on video. In total, the couple gave out gift cards to seven shoppers, mostly seniors, and one retired member of the Army National Guard.

 

Asked how long the couple have been doing this, Joseph replied, “From day one.. whatever we get.. if we get food, we figure we give it right back, and we do this all the time,” during holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentine’s Day.

 

Moments after receiving her gift card, Iris Fevus, a Briggs Avenue resident, said “I was on line, and all of a sudden they presented me with this card, and I didn’t expect it, no Sir. That was a good Valentine’s. Of course, every little bit helps the way things are now with this COVID, and economic problems we’re going through.”

 

“We really appreciate it,” Fevus continued, “It’s a shame. I’ve been living here for 39 years and I’ve seen it go from good to what we’re going through now. Life has changed and every little bit helps.”