Lake Co. 'Race For Hunger' has dozens of winners
The Grayslake Fire Department got the victory, but the real winners in the annual Lake County Farm Bureau's Race For Hunger are the people using the Fremont Township Food Pantry.
John Christian, chief of the Grayslake Fire Protection District, may not have moved as fast as competitor Fire Chief Timothy Sashko of the Mundelein Fire Department, but his selection process was enough to take home the first place trophy during the 12th annual Race For Hunger at Piggly Wiggly Thursday morning in Grayslake.
Each year, the Farm Bureau asks two competitors spend eight minutes filling shopping carts with nonperishable food products that contain corn, soybeans, wheat, barley and oats.
The contestant whose carts have the highest monetary value is named the year's winner.
Both competitors agreed that Christian's last-minute grab of large boxes of microwave popcorn is what put him over the top, ringing up $1,427 worth of groceries over Sashko's $1,295.
"I had a method to what I was doing," Christian said. "I was going for specific brands and saved the popcorn for last."
The decision was enough to upend Sashko, who admitted to walking through the Grayslake grocery store for three hours Wednesday night before the contest, taking notes of where his important items were located.
"He had home field advantage, so I needed to do something to even the odds," he said, clutching his three page "cheat sheet" before race time. "I blew it in the soup aisle. I spent too much time there."
Every year, the farm bureau purchases the food picked in the race from Piggly Wiggly and donates the items to a food pantry chosen by the competitors. This year, Fremont was selected by both chiefs.
The total amount of groceries purchased was $2,722.
"We are really proud of this event," said Greg Koeppen of the farm bureau. "We have used school superintendents and township supervisors in the past. This year we decided to change it up and bring in the fire chiefs to see what they could do."
Of course, good-natured ribbing went on between the two chiefs before, during and after the race.
"I think one of my carts was counted in his line," Sashko said, smiling. "I demand a recount."
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