For most of the year, Stacey Achterhoff is a teacher for homeless children – but in the summertime, she hops on her tricycle-cart and becomes her sweet alter ego: Mrs. Delicious.
Mrs. Delicious specializes in giving away ice cream that was paid for by someone else. Whenever most people receive a cone courtesy of the colorful ice cream woman, they will immediately reach into their pockets to pay for a treat that will later be given to someone else.
“People want to know that goodness is prevailing over evil, and they want to be a part of that,” Achterhoff told KARE 11.
For the last three summers, Mrs. Delicious has made a name for herself in Duluth, Minnesota by giving away hundreds of ice cream cones and popsicles that were bought by community members who want to pay it forward to their neighbors – many of whom want to pay it forward in honor of someone else, much like Achterhoff.
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Achterhoff first started dispensing ice cream as a means of bringing joy to people after the death of her 91-year-old great aunt in 2009.
“I’m a person of faith, and what do you do when terrible things happen? You have to figure out where the light is,” she said.
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Then, three years ago, she was approached by a man who bought some of her ice cream cones and then immediately told her to give them away to other people.
She wrote about the encounter on her Facebook page, and upon seeing how many people were inspired by the compassionate gesture, she began the pay-it-forward model – and it has continued to make her city a little bit brighter one sweet treat at a time.
(WATCH the video below) – Photo by KARE 11
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This is a great idea by Stacey Achterhoff (Mrs. Delicious).