The news these days is often depressing at worst and frustrating at best. It’s easy to get caught up in the spin cycle and let it get us down. Never fear… The News Blender has you covered. Once a week, we feature Something Good and, in return, all you have to do is tell us something good that has happened to you this week, something you are thankful for, a joke, a cute animal story, an inspiring tale of heroics, a Random Act of Kindness… SOMETHING good.
Today’s Something Good is SpaghettiOs.
Crystal MacDonald had the weight of additional fears than most people had during the early days of the pandemic shutdowns. Her 11 year-old daughter, Ashlyn, has severe non-verbal autism and food is a very sensory experience for her, according to Crystal. Ashlyn will now only eat SpaghettiOs with meatballs.
Pre-pandemic, Ashlyn would eat grilled cheese, pizza, and yoghurt in addition to SpaghettiOs. Her teachers and therapists were working on expanding her ability to tolerate additional foods but then everything shut down and her routine was shattered. Ashlyn’s mom explained to TODAY, “Once she lost her routine of school, and like so many people with autism, routine is vital to their mental health, she stopped eating other foods. I think the predictability of the texture and taste of the SpaghettiOs brings a sense of control and comfort to her in this time of chaos.”
When Massachusetts shut down and Crystal stayed home to care for her 5 children, her concern turned to the pressing need to be able to provide Ashlyn the one food she would eat. SpaghettiOs, like many other items, flew off the shelves at the grocery store. Only SpaghettiOs with meatballs would do and all alternative brands were rejected by Ashlyn. Crystal would call around to local grocery stores and food banks to inquire if they had the pasta in stock and make as many as 20 trips a day trying to have enough cans to keep Ashlyn fed.
When the people of Attleboro found out about Crystal’s problem via a story about food shortages in the local paper, The Sun Chronicle, the problem was solved. People would call to inform her when they found the right kind of SpaghettiOs on the shelf and whole cases showed up on her doorstep. When Campbell’s, the maker of SpaghettiOs, was tipped off to the MacDonalds’ situation, they were happy to help out and donated a year’s supply of Ashlyn’s favorite food.
Crystal told TODAY, “It has been an incredible experience to feel so much love from our community. As a parent of a special needs child, it can be a lonely existence and one that you imagine others to not quite understand. Especially in these times of such turmoil and hardship, it has been incredible to experience such kindness.”
This story just goes to show that kindness comes in many flavors – even a can of SpaghettiOs with meatballs – and how very easy it is to bestow kindness on someone who desperately needs it.
Now it’s your turn… Tell me something good!
