A Georgia State University student who worked as a grocery delivery worker during her downtime said Popeyes employees refused to sell her groceries because she wanted to give the food to a homeless person. She took to social media to let the public know how mean the fast food workers were to her.
On Wednesday, August 17, college student Jo Ortega was grabbing a DoorDash from Popeyes on Ponce de Leon Ave near downtown when she saw a man she believed to be a fugitive and hungry. She decided to order the person a chicken dinner, but was shocked when the worker told her not to buy it.
Ortega recorded the video and posted it on her TikTok account @thegirlyjo, and the exchange with the workers went viral.
The two videos of the incident have received 6.6 million views combined.
A subsequent video explains how, after being told her DoorDash order wasn’t ready, she decided to go back and ask the man she saw if he’d like something to eat. She told the workers what she was going to do before receiving his order for a two-piece dinner.
In the footage, Ortega can be seen attempting to place an order for a man who viewers later learn is named Jazz. On her way to pick her up, she met the gentleman at the side of the road.
The worker said, “No madam, you cannot.”
“Why? He’s asking for food?” Ortega replied.
Another clerk said before closing the drive-thru window, “Ma’am, you can’t do that. I wouldn’t care if you take me baby.”
Ortega says because she insisted on helping the unprotected individual the Popeyes employees called law enforcement about her. The second video shows patrol cars with their lights flashing.
She says in the video: “They called the police about me, everything bro. I can’t order anything for this homeless man here, he asked for food, he didn’t ask for no money. And they are so rude.”
In an interview with FOX 5 Atlanta, Ortega said, “At that moment I was scared, I thought I was going to be arrested. Maybe I should just call my family and maybe I won’t be coming home tonight.”
Atlanta Police Department Public Information Officer Benjamin Hopson said: “Units arrived at the scene and the caller was already gone. The call ended with no arrest/no report.”
Ortega reports that the police spoke to the franchise’s general manager and explained the situation to them. The Good Samaritan said the manager felt guilty about her staff’s handling of the situation and allowed Ortega and the man to order whatever they wanted from the menu for free.
According to Ortega, one of the responding officers thanked her for trying to buy food for the man. She said: “The officer pulled me aside and said, ‘I really thank you for that, thank you for buying him food. I appreciate that.”
The officer wasn’t the only one who thanked her. In one of the videos, while holding a drink from the restaurant, the man she was trying to support said, “My name is Jazz, and thank you.”
The National Alliance to End Homelessness reported in 2020 that there are 580,466 homeless people in the United States.
Data from a more local source, the Atlanta Continuum of Care, notes that “3,240 homeless people were counted within city limits, of whom 939 were homeless (found out there or in cars).”
In a statement, Popeyes said that as a company it is “committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect.”
“We ensured that all staff at this restaurant were retrained to handle a range of guest interactions, such as the situation highlighted in the video.”
The student has started a fundraiser to help find permanent shelter for Jazz.
“I want to help get him off the street and buy him a new tent and socks etc. All proceeds will go to him and I am currently looking for programs in Atlanta, Georgia that could help with his situation.” she wrote. “Also, please contact me if you have any resources that might help!”
Ortega says she will be starting a separate GoFundMe to support other vulnerable families who have reached out to her since that evening.
