Woman makes most of grocery giveaway
Melissa Bucior headed straight for the Jim Thorpe Market's meat section Monday morning at the outset of her 30-second shopping spree.
The Jim Thorpe resident executed her plan to perfection, amassing $170.44 worth of crabmeat, ground beef, hot and sweet sausage, London broil and beef roast."I'll tell you that 30 seconds goes a lot faster than you think it will," Bucior said. "I thought it went pretty well even though things were getting a little slippery because I was a little bit nervous."Bucior won the opportunity through a drawing as part of ShurSave Supermarkets' first Great Grocery Giveaway.After learning she was the lucky shopper around a week ago, Bucior went to the market on Sunday to scout out her route."I brought my phone and set the timer for 30 seconds," she said. "My goal was to find the fastest route back to the meat section. I thought that was the most practical place to focus my time."Starting at the front of the store, Bucior darted down aisle three past ketchup and other condiments and was back to the meat with about 24 seconds to spare.It's no surprise Bucior got to the back of the store as quick as she did. Her son Dylan will be attending Temple University in the fall to run cross-country.She was accompanied to the store Monday by her daughter.Contest rules prohibited her from picking up more than two of the same item and certain items, such as cigarettes, were off limits.Jim Thorpe Market's Charlie Steward said his staff had everything out like they would for any other shopper."We didn't hide the big briskets or anything like that," he joked.Bucior could have had up to $300 in products."I was thinking if I was a little faster, I would have went for some shrimp or big bottles of Tide," she said. "Maybe some coffee."Bucior said her husband does a lot of butchering on the side and he would be excited about the meat he would find when he got home from work."He'll cut it up just the way we like it," she said.The Great Grocery Giveaway contest ran for almost two months, ending on April 7.Shoppers could pick up a playing card when they entered the market, or another ShurSave store in one of eight states, and collect pieces with every transaction, similar to the McDonald's Monopoly game.Spending over $30 earned shoppers two tickets, over $60 was three tickets and so on."At the store level, we had one shopping spree winner and seven shoppers won $25 gift cards," Steward said. "It was the first time we had this contest. A lot of people embraced it."Three people nationwide will win free groceries for a year, valued at $5,200.