Shopping spree set for reading program

Some lucky person will get a chance to do a three-minute shopping spree free of charge at Gary & Leo’s Fresh Foods in Havre.

Plant a Seed...READ is selling tickets for a raffle for just such a venture.

Plant a Seed...READ and Imagination Library provide special reading initiatives for young people.

For instance, kids under 5 who participate get an age-appropriate book mailed to them each month.

And the group is working on programs to help guide parents along as they help their children to read.

For $10, people can buy a ticket for the spree.

The winner will be chosen at a Breakfast for Literacy at Suppertime, which will be held April 9, 5 p.m. at the Eagles Club.

The group has held Breakfast for Literacy programs in the past, said Lorraine Verploegen, director of Plant A Seed…READ.

“This year, the directors thought it would be something different to have it at night,” she said.

The meal will include sausage, biscuits and gravy and a full breakfast. She said. There will be a silent auction.

The winner will be chosen, and the winner will work with Gary & Leo’s to come up with a time for the spree.

Tracy Job, Gary & Leo’s general manager, said sometimes the winner picks a friend to do the running for the shopping spree.

Except for a few items, such as tobacco products and lottery tickets, everything in the store is open for the spree.

People usually case the store beforehand so they can plot out their path, he said.

Meats are usually a targeted area, he said.

People can run the through the store, fill up their carts, go back to the front, get another cart and start on Round 2.

Store employees try to clear the path for the runner, he said.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at Gary & Leo’s.