- caringcoalitionaz
Creating a Community with Food & Culture
Updated: May 31
I paid a visit to a large Middle Eastern market in Central Phoenix to find items that would work well for this family. The owner of the market introduced me to a young Sudanese teen, Ibrahim, who was manning the cash register.
A Yemeni woman in a colorful hijab overheard our conversation. She approached me, saying, “We can just google it.” She took me up and down the same aisles, consulting her phone, selecting items, and cheerfully tossing them into my cart.

When I reached the register, there was a plethora of spices, beans, vegetables, and sauces in my cart. I put some things aside, telling the cashier I would get them next time. While I was loading my car, Ibrahim came out to the parking lot with a bag of groceries in his arms. He said, “The man in line behind you paid for the things you couldn’t buy. He wanted you to have them.”