-Farm News photo by Clayton Rye
HyVee West not only was the location for the Grab and Give Grocery event, but also sponsored a team in the competition. HyVee employee Sheena Murray guides a cart load of groceries assisted by team members, her mother Jeanette Long and brother Sean Long, also HyVee employees.

MASON CITY — Grocery shoppers at HyVee West on the morning of Feb. 24 had to be puzzled seeing many people quickly putting groceries in their carts as if they were preparing for a great disaster that was minutes away.

However, this was not a disaster. It was the 10th annual Cerro Gordo County Farm Bureau’s Grab and Give Grocery event hosted by the HyVee West store. It is a competition of employees of area agriculture-related businesses who have five minutes to pick groceries that total as close as possible to $250. The winner is the one who came closest without going over it.

At the event’s conclusion all the groceries that were picked are donated to the Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank of Mason City.

The rules are that teams cannot use calculators, pens, pencils, or cell phones to calculate their total. The goal of $250 has to include applicable sales tax and discounts.

They are given a list of items needed by the Food Bank five minutes before each heat begins. Only team members can put groceries in their carts, but others can scout for the needed groceries.

-Farm News photo by Clayton Rye
Contestants take off in a race to fill their carts in the 10th annual Cerro Gordo County Farm Bureau’s Grab and Give Grocery event, hosted by the HyVee West store.

This year 22 teams plus three businesses made cash donations to the event. Teams came from elevators, banks and a credit union, construction, seed, chemical, farm equipment and auction companies, Clear Lake FFA and more. They were divided into three heats that morning.

The event began at 9 a.m. and approximately two hours later, the store was back to normal. After each heat the groceries were checked out and the total for each team was recorded. When the heats were done, the eating area of HyVee West was used for announcing the winners while the entrants enjoyed coffee and pastries.

The winning team was from Farmers State Bank with a total of $249.88, 12 cents short of the goal.

Second place went to North Iowa Collision with $248.52. Third place was awarded to Fox Auction Company with $251.98.

The Farmers State Bank team members were Jake Heimer, Don O’Connor, and Lisa Prochaska. When asked if they had a winning strategy, O’Connor said they tried to buy items with round numbers and buy in bulk to aid in keeping a total.

POET Biorefining of Hanlontown repeated what they have done in past years, ignoring the goal of $250 and filling a cart to capacity in the five minutes allowed. Their donation totaled $505.12 and they received the Greatest Grabber award.

According to Sarah Tweeten of the Cerro Gordo County Farm Bureau, the grand total donated to Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank was $7,062.62 in groceries and cash for this year’s event.

From Hawkeye Harvest’s Facebook page, they said there were 3,677 pounds of food and $1,300 in cash donations.

Carol Clayton has been a volunteer at the Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank for 12 years. There is no paid staff.

When asked what the Grab and Give Grocery Event means to the food bank, she said, “It means we get lots of good food for a long time.”

The list of needed items for the food bank that was given to the teams was for items not purchased by the food bank.

“We don’t purchase flour, sugar, and coffee. They last a long time,” said Clayton. “Soups are gone in a week. It fills in the gaps you don’t get from the Iowa Food Bank.”

“We’re very appreciative for what the county Farm Bureau has done for 10 years,” she added.