This restaurant owner made an incredibly kind gesture to the person going through her bins

An American restaurant’s simple gesture has gone viral with thousands sharing the story online.

The story first came to attention when Instagram user Greg King posted the below picture of a sign he noticed in the window of Oklahoma restaurant P.B. Jams.

Owner Ashley Jiron had recently discovered that someone was going through their dumpster for food and posted the sign saying that she was offering them a free sandwich, fresh vegetables and water anytime because they are "a human being and worth more than a meal from a dumpster".

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Jirons explained to KFOR why she wrote it:

"It hurt me that someone had to do that… I think we've all been in that position where we've needed somebody's help."

The photo went viral and P.B. Jams have been inundated with messages of support on Facebook and Twitter. On the back of that, Jirons has set up a GoFundMe account to raise money and has been inspired to set up a pay-it-forward campaign called Share The Nuts.

"Patrons can pre-pay a meal for a person in need. For each donation, a sticky nut will be placed on our wall. Those who need to can come take a tag off the wall and use it to pay for their meal. Donations not used by the end of the month will go towards purchasing food for a local homeless shelter."

So that simple sign has started a project that will likely benefit many - and judging by the photos of the food in P.B. Jams, they're in for a treat.

H/T: breakingnews.ie