Call Ramandeep Kaur and Jaswinder Singh, owners of CK Food Mart, the goodwill ambassadors of the Valley of the Sun.
In addition to operating their convenience store in Phoenix, the couple this past fall began offering free local rides—under the moniker of CK Community Services—to any senior citizen (older than 60), such as to the bank, library, pharmacy, airport, grocery store and more.
The retailers also took their role as benefactor one step further, slashing gasoline prices well below the local average. As a result, the couple saw daily fuel customers double and took a hit on profits.
“We started thinking about this when people came to our store, and we realized they had trouble getting around,” said Kaur. “Many seniors around here are on fixed incomes and don’t drive. It’s prevalent.”
To help, the couple opted to sell its trucking business to raise the capital needed to help underwrite goodwill initiatives such as the low fuel prices and free daily rides.
“We don’t care about the money right now because people need help now,” Singh said. “If you don’t make money, it doesn’t matter; when you leave this world, you go empty-handed.”