Aurora, Elburn charity pantries benefit from grocery race
The competition was fierce but two food pantries both won Friday at the 17th annual Kane County Farm Bureau Food Checkout Challenge at the Jewel-Osco in Batavia.
Kane County Board member Theresa Barreiro of Aurora and Elburn President Jeff Walter tossed food into their shopping carts in the six-minute event while heeding advice from volunteers at the Marie Wilkinson and Elburn food pantries.
Walters' crew was briefly flummoxed when he dropped a bottle of spaghetti sauce, which made a mess in the cart and on the floor. But he recovered, and won, collecting $1,319.12 worth of items. Barreiro bagged $866.39. Both pantries were also given $200 worth of vegetable oil and coffee.
"They went down the spice aisle," a rueful Barreiro exclaimed afterward, of Walter's choice to put some pricier items in the cart while she concentrated on staples such as beans, pasta and cereal.
Walter joked about having pulled a groin muscle and aggravating his back from all the bending and lifting.