Shopping spree winners dash through grocery aisles

A group of Rocky Boy residents who won holiday shopping sprees dashed through Gary & Leo's Fresh Foods Thursday afternoon as they loaded more than $1,800 in groceries within two minutes.

The Chippewa Cree-created consultation company iResponse bought groceries for five families and two elderly Rocky Boy residents, all of whom were selected by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, iResponse director Alvin Windy Boy said. The gesture was iResponse's way of contributing something to the community, he said.

Before the spree began, some of the shoppers began scouting out the grocery store, developing a game plan.

Once all the shoppers had arrived, Windyboy told them the rules - no candy, no alcohol and no meats.

Melody Henry, who had helped coordinate the event, said meat bundles would be bought for everyone later in the day from Bear Paw Meats.

Once the stopwatch was started, everyone darted in different directions, speedily pushing their carts through the aisles as employees and casual shoppers stood by or quickly moved out of the way. As they dropped item after item into their cart, a voice coming through the intercom announced, every few seconds, how much time was left.

By the time only a few seconds were left, Rachel Sutherland was spent. She had just grabbed her last items from the organic shelf in the corner when it was announced that time was up.

While waiting to check out, Sutherland was still recovering and breathing hard.

She said she'd just found out in the morning that she'd been selected. The spree had its challenges, she added.

"I didn't know what to grab," she said.a As much food as she had piled in her cart, she guessed it would last about a week.

"There are about 14 of us in the house," she said.

She was glad she won.

"It couldn't have come at a better time," Sutherland said.

Gary & Leo's manager Tracy Job said the store hosts about two shopping sprees a year.

"It's a fun event," he said. "This one's very worthwhile. It's helping a lot of folks."