Buying some coffee at the grocery store? How about an extra $100 with that? Or perhaps you need cookies? Here’s $100 for your excellent dessert decision. Lucky shoppers in Portland grocery stores this week might’ve thought there was a band of money fairies roving the area, stuffing hundred-dollar bills into items on the shelves, but of course, it was a publicity stunt. At least, at first.

A local country music radio station confessed to the spate of Good Samaritan incidents in the area, after news outlets started issuing reports of mysterious money caches popping up at Walmart and other grocery spots, reports KPTV.com. At least some of the bills are tied into a promo the station is running.

Staffers started hiding money last week in the area and — here’s the good news — will keep doing it in the weeks ahead. The goal? Just to make people happy when they find money. There’s no branding on the bills, and the station director says others could be paying it forward by now, so not all the money is necessarily coming from the promo.

One man who found $100 in a box of snickerdoodles was wily enough to go back and check other cookies at Walmart, and unearthed another $100. He did his duty and reported his find at the customer service desk, and was rewarded when the store said he could keep his haul.

“I’m really thankful, I really appreciate it,” he told KPTV.com. “I hope someday to be able to do what you did.”

Mystery solved! Who is behind the $100 bills hidden at local stores? [KPTV.com]

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