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Wail Alselwi (@islandock1), the manager of Zack’s Finest Deli & Grocery in Port Richmond, Staten Island, created a new incentive for local students called Grades for Grabs

Acknowledging good grades can do so much to uplift kids' academic performance. And Staten Island bodega manager Wail Alselwi is making sure that the students in his local community are recognized for their scholastic efforts by offering them rewards for their hard work.

Alselwi (@islandock1), the manager of Zack’s Finest Deli & Grocery in Port Richmond, Staten Island, created a new incentive for local students called Grades for Grabs—described as "a movement dedicated to rewarding students for their hard work with snacks and cash prizes for good grades." He began sharing heartfelt videos on his TikTok account of local kids coming into his store to show him their high marks in school, which began to catch on.

In an interview with Good Morning America, Alselwi shared that one student began it all in 2024: 12-year-old Zameir Davis. "I started it with him and then I started doing it with other kids too," he said about Davis. "Some kids have bad grades. You just need to encourage them to do better so they don't give up. You give them hope, and that someone really cares, and that there is a prize after for [their] hard work."

@islandock1

Zack’s finest #islandock #foryoupage #fypシ #ocky #deli #fypシ゚viral

In Davis' now-viral video, he excitedly burst into Alselwi's shop to share the good news that he had finally made the honor roll. "I told you I'd get honor roll!" he said in the video, to which Alselwi replied, "No way! You did it?! He did it! You're the man, Zameir!" For his reward, Zameir chose multiple bags of Doritos, a cookies & cream milkshake, and a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. "Keep going, ya heard! That's what I'm talking about," Alselwi says at the end of the video.

And TikTok viewers commended their sweet interaction. "He probably told you before his parents 🥺🥰🥰🥰🥰," one wrote. Another added, "The excitement he has to share his achievement 🥰. And another viewer shared, "definition of 'it takes a village'😭."

@islandock1

#Islandock #Zacksfinest #fypシ #foryoupag #ocky #deli #foodtiktok #gradesforgrabs #GFG #islandockmerch #nyc #statenisland #school #reportcards #fypシ゚viral

Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella also recognized Alselwi with a Certificate of Appreciation for his selfless act with Zamier, sharing, "[Alselwi] had no obligation, he had no reason, he had no point to help this young man, but he chose to and that’s the beauty of this story.”

@islandock1

#Islandock #Zacksfinest #fypシ #foryoupag #ocky #deli #gradesforgrabs #GFG #islandockmerch #nyc #statenisland #school #reportcards #library

Students have continued to visit Alselwi to receive encouragement and share their good grade news to receive an even sweeter reward: $100 and the chance to grab anything in the store they want thanks to Alselwi's generosity and crowdfunding.

"Many kids lack encouragement, and sometimes, all it takes is a small incentive to boost their confidence and push them toward greatness," he shared on the movement's GoFundMe page. "Imagine a student working extra hard to improve their grades, knowing their effort will be recognized and celebrated. That’s the impact we’re making!" He also adds that the mission statement of Grades for Grabs is to be "a community-driven initiative that makes learning fun and rewarding. Together, we can create a generation that values hard work, determination, and success!"

When customers at one San Francisco grocery store went to the checkout one day, they were outraged. The cost of their groceries had increased astronomically.

Look, we've all cringed once or twice while the cashier rings up the fancy yogurt we decided to get last minute because "screw it, I wanna eat fancy yogurt," but this wasn't a few pennies or dollars here and there. This was $25 for a box of spinach and $40 for a loaf of bread and some cigarettes.

The cost of their groceries had inflated. But why?

It was all part of a social experiment meant to show people what buying groceries is like for people living in poverty.

1 in 10 families in the Bay Area live on $24,300 or less per year, below the poverty line and well below the Bay Area average. The experiment was set up by Tipping Point Community, a poverty relief organization, which set up a register in a Nob Hill grocery store where customers checking out would be given "poverty line prices," or prices that were proportionally representative to living in poverty.

"If eggs cost $6 for someone living on the poverty line, or 1.4% of their weekly salary, the adjusted price would be $29.64 for someone living on the average San Francisco salary," TPC's website explains.

Tipping Point also set up a website where anyone can plug in their annual salary and see what grocery shopping would be like if they lived in poverty.

While those skyrocketed prices were temporarily frustrating for the people trying to buy groceries, the sticker shock they experienced is one millions of Americans face every day.

In 2015, over 43 million people in the United States were living in poverty. That's down 1.2% from 2014 but is still a massive number. Sticker shock doesn't just affect people below the poverty line either. According to the Corporation for Enterprise Development, nearly half of all Americans are one financial shock — a job loss, a medical emergency, etc. — away from poverty. Feeling financial discomfort while you shop for basic needs is something that could happen to any of us.

The income gap between the rich and poor in the United States is ever-widening, and closing it would require landmark financial restructuring, or at least some out-of-the-box thinking.

If you had to pay $30 for cold medicine or $15 for a gallon of milk, you might be outraged like the folks in the video. Most of all though, you'd want to do something about it. You'd want somebody to recognize that it's an unfair burden on you and your family.

You'd want things to change.

Watch people react to poverty line prices here:

What are the chefs at Restlos Glücklich serving today? Waste.

Food waste that is.

This Berlin restaurant is giving blemished ingredients a second chance by turning them into exquisite, mouthwatering meals.


Chef Daniel Roick holds a creation made from discarded groceries. Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

Restlos Glücklich (which loosely translates to "completely happy") works closely with an organic grocery store chain to procure its ingredients.

Most of the bread and produce they receive is imperfect and might otherwise languish on the shelf. And incorrect deliveries can result in accidental surplus, so the restaurant puts that to use too.


Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

From there, chefs let the ingredients inspire appetizing and inventive vegetarian dishes.

Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

And they serve them in the restaurant Wednesday through Saturday.


Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

There's even a three-course fine-dining option available on the weekends, where you might enjoy these bite-sized appetizers...

Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

...or this delectable entree — deep-fried sesame balls in carrot sauce. Yum!

Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

From end to end, the process has an eye toward conservation and sustainability.

Not only does the restaurant work to minimize food waste, workers also pick up the daily haul on bicycles.

Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

And their effort doesn't end with the restaurant. The staff hosts cooking classes to help kids and adults learn to cook more sustainably using ingredients they may already have.

Efforts like Restlos Glücklich highlight the moral, environmental, and economic impact of food waste.

Each year, around $1 trillion in food is wasted in production or consumption (what you scrape off your plate or leave behind in a restaurant). That's about one-third of all the food produced worldwide!

Volunteer workers sort food waste and rubbish for recycling at the Glastonbury Festival. Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images.

In the U.S. alone, each person contributes over an estimated 20 pounds of food waste per month. It's no wonder organic material is the second-most common item in our overcrowded landfills.

And all of this while millions go without. There's got to be a better way.

That's why it's important to take responsibility for our production, consumption, and waste habits.

Whether it's using exploring how your local stores handle damaged or blemished goods, cooking more with less, starting a compost pile to give organic refuse another life, or stopping in to Restlos Glucklich, we're all capable of doing something to better our community and minimize waste.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

With the stroke of a pen, California Gov. Jerry Brown funded a $5 million program that supports local farmers and families in need.

It's the kind of good news we don't hear enough about.

In this new program, the California Nutrition Incentives Act will offer discounts on fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers markets for low-income shoppers receiving federal benefits.



A customer shops for fresh vegetables at a farmers market in San Francisco, California. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

A similar California-based program called Market Match, which has already rolled out, matches government benefits dollar for dollar to use on fresh produce and may serve as a model for the new California program.

Basically, if a shopper wants to use $5 of their federal benefits, this new program provides $10 in tokens for the shopper to use at local farmers markets.

That's double the amount of money that can used to buy fresh produce and double the amount of fresh produce sold, too. It's a great deal for families and farmers alike.

While the bill was approved by the state legislature last October, it was unclear where the money for the program would come from.

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that $100 million in Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive grants would be used to fund projects aimed at getting nutrient-rich, affordable foods to people in need.

Shoppers look at produce at the farmers market in Monterey Park, California. Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images.

Quickly, states and nonprofits developed coordinated efforts to apply for the funds. Washington and Massachusetts have already received $6 million and $4 million respectively for their programs. And Market Match received $3.7 million over two years to expand their program, too.

Naturally, California (which has around 700 farmers markets and more than 3.6 million residents in the CalFresh benefits program) wanted in.

And by funding this new $5 million project, California will receive a $5 million match from the USDA, doubling the program's potential impact.

A woman shops for peaches at the Monterey Park Farmers Market. Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images.

Projects like this are a win for everyone.

Local growers and farmers get to connect with and serve more customers.

(Yay, community!)

Uriel Espinoza, left, helps a customer pick out strawberries at a farmers market in San Francisco. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Low-income families using federal benefits can stretch that money a little farther and spend it on local food at an affordable price.

(Yay, delicious meals and strong families!)

A woman shops for peaches at Monterey Park's Farmers Market in Monterey Park, California. Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images.

And every level of government gets the chance to work together for the people and take an active role providing better options for people with limited access to fresh options.

(Yay, good government!)

An organic farmer puts up a sign at the new farmers market in Hollywood. Photo by Sebastian Artz/Getty Images.

For everyone involved, this is the start of something good. Let's keep the good going.