Monday afternoon, when most people were ending their work days, Checkers owner Jim Lewis still had deliveries to make.

Three days a week, Lewis drives to nearly 30 homes around the city, delivering groceries — sometimes less than $20 worth — to those who can’t get to the store on their own.

It takes as long as several hours each week, and it doesn’t amount to much extra money. Actually, it doesn’t amount to anything but a good feeling.

“I won’t take a tip,” Lewis said of the free service. “If they give me a tip and I don’t know about it, it comes back in an envelope next week.”

Instead, he does it because he knows those who are elderly or have disabilities need the service and often can’t afford to pay for it. And he stands out in a time when the economy is tough, people are looking out for themselves, and business owners have been accused of looking only at the bottom line.

At 97, Gertrude Halberg knows the value of Lewis’ work.

Halberg lives alone, but has poor vision and uses a walker. Winding up in a care center is the last thing she wants, so she pays someone to do her yard work, and a neighbor helps with daily tasks.

“And I have Jim deliver my groceries,” she said matter-of-factly.

Such a service is invaluable, said Kim Wittman, Senior Meals manager at Douglas County Senior Services.

“To someone who’s homebound, to have a service available that maintains their independence without being a financial issue — that’s just the ultimate,” she said.

Sometimes Lewis helps Halberg put things away while they chat.

Jim Lewis, owner of Checkers, takes time to put some eggs in the refrigerator during a grocery delivery to the home of Gertrude Halberg, 97, left. Lewis makes free deliveries to about 30 homes for people who can't get to the store alone.

“I want everyone to know what you’re doing,” she told him recently as he sat for a moment in her kitchen.

Few grocery stores in Lawrence have delivery services, and those that do often charge a hefty fee. Hy-Vee adds $15 onto every delivery, while Box of Frogs, a delivery service used by the Community Mercantile, charges from 10 percent to 20 percent of the purchase price.

The services charge for a reason: Free deliveries could quickly get out of hand in a city of busy people with little time to shop, and even Lewis has to be selective in choosing who gets his deliveries.

He doesn’t have time to make dozens of stops each day, so he limits himself to helping only a few home economics teachers at Lawrence-area schools and people who are truly unable to get to the store.

He started the deliveries when Alvins, a grocery store that offered delivery, closed and customers started calling Checkers, 2300 La.

“What are we going to do?” Lewis said they asked.

No matter their age or health, people need to feel independent, he said, and that’s what keeps him making the deliveries long past 5 p.m.

“It makes me feel good,” he said.

As Halberg counted out the money for her groceries — a couple of apples, a carton of cherry tomatoes and a jar of peanuts — Lewis said he might someday need similar help.

“And I hope there’s a young kid there,” he said, grinning at Halberg. “Gertrude thinks I’m a young kid because I’m half her age.”