Canadian couple uses grocery store shopping spree to stock the shelves of a food bank

(Image credit: iStock)

published 18 June 2019

With 50 seconds on the clock, Ryan Warren scrambled to grab as many non-perishable items as possible, knowing they would soon fill the shelves of the Calgary Food Bank.

Warren and his partner, Chantal Leroux, were "really excited" when they learned they won a shopping spree at Bragg Creek Foods, Leroux told CBC News. They were told they would have 50 seconds to grab what they wanted, up to $500. At first, Leroux pictured all of the items they could stock up on, but then it hit her: this was "a great opportunity to be able to give back."

On Saturday, Leroux and Warren arrived at the grocery store with a game plan: grab items that wouldn't spoil, so they could go to the food bank. During the allotted 50 seconds, Warren grabbed everything from canned vegetables to coffee to diapers, racking up a $598 bill (because they were helping the food bank, the extra $98 was covered). That wasn't all — before the shopping spree, Warren asked for donations from local businesses, and presented the food bank with a check for $1,500. This, Calgary Food Bank employee Avaleen Streeton said, was "absolutely phenomenal."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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