BENTON, Ark. — Every once in a while you hear about a customer "paying it forward" for someone who is behind them in a drive-thru line. What if that chain lasted for days— or even weeks?
Well, Pasta J Italian in Benton has been doing just that.
Inspired by a Facebook post, owner Leanne Otts started a pay-it-forward program to give back to her community.
"We do have a few people that have come in, you know, and they'll ask if they can take out the trash, or if they can wash dishes for a spaghetti or something. And I don't want anybody to be hungry," Otts explained.
So a few weeks ago, Otts' family started the restaurant's pay it forward wall, where they hang pre-paid meal tickets for anyone who needs them. After the first few went up, customers started funding the rest, and they haven't stopped.
"We hear a lot of bad, but there's still so much good. And so many people. We've just got to give them that chance to show it," Otts said, "Like two customers today did $20 and then bought a kids meal."
They've already served a few free meals and now have a wall ready for whoever needs it next.
"We want people to eat good food, whether they can afford to or not," Otts said.
The restaurant hopes that the people in Benton help keep their new pay-it-forward program going.
"Hopefully, more people will use it and more people will give so even more people can use it. Like I just want to keep it going," Otts said, "Food and cooking for people, it's a way that I've always shown love and I'm glad that more people see it too."