Fun observance of Food Check-Out Day benefits local food shelters

The aisles of Quillin's Food Ranch in Waukon were a bit more lively than normal Friday afternoon, Feb. 4, as the Allamakee County Farm Bureau sponsored a rather unique and generous way to observe "Food Check-Out Day". Two teams of local "celebrities" that included Iowa House District 16 Representative Chuck Gipp and Iowa District 8 Senator Mark Zieman on one team and KNEI Radio personalities Chuck Allen and Shotgun Sherry on the other, squared off in a race to fill their carts with grocery items that would then be purchased by the Allamakee County Farm Bureau and donated to the Allamakee County Food Shelf and Postville Food Pantry.

"It was an idea that I know they had tried on a larger scale down in Des Moines one time, and I thought it would be a fun way to help us observe Food Check-Out Day here in Allamakee County," said Allamakee County Farm Bureau President Mark Stock. "I think we had so much fun here that we may try to make this an annual event."

The two teams were given lists of items from the five basic food groups, as well as other necessities, and then given 10 minutes to race through the store to fill their carts with those items before checking out. The team with the highest dollar value following check-out would then also receive a $50 gift card, courtesy of Quillin's Food Ranch, that could also be donated to the food shelters in the name of the winning team.

When all was said and done, the Gipp/Zieman team tallied $115.73 at the till, while the contents of KNEI Radio's cart added up to $87.25. Upon further review of some rules and regulations, however, Quillin's Food Ranch manager Don Nagel declared the race a draw and donated the gift card on behalf of both teams, making the two food shelters the real winners from the event with more than $250 worth of grocery items being donated to them.

Food Check-Out Day is actually observed as Monday, Feb. 7 this year, marking the day that the average American will have earned enough disposable income from the beginning of the year to pay for his or her food supply for the entire year, according to Farm Bureau.