The shelves are stocked at the Iola Community Pantry thanks to Saturday’s “Grocery Grab,” sponsored by Iola Rotary Club and G&W Foods.
The fundraiser netted the pantry more than $1,250 in primarily canned goods. Just ahead of winter, the timing couldn’t be better.
Rotary used its ticket sales, which netted $5,233, to go toward settling the bill with G&W, which gave the club about a 10% discount on Saturday’s haul.
Rotary will use the proceeds from the fundraiser to assemble 35 food baskets ahead of Thanksgiving Day.
Donna Grigsby, secretary of the local Rotary club, is an organizer of the event, now in its fourth year.
“It’s a win-win,” Grigsby said, noting former Iola dentist and Rotarian Ellis Potter, now of Overland Park, shared the grocery grab idea from a Kansas City-based Rotary club.
Altogether, more than 1,000 tickets were sold at $5 apiece for a chance to take as many items as possible from the grocery’s shelves in 5 minutes flat. But that’s not all. The tickets also serve as $5 coupons on purchases $50 and greater now through the end of the year.
Out of the 1,056 tickets sold, six were drawn for “the grab.” Typically, those in the running designate an entity worthy of the largesse. Last year’s was the Pregnancy and Family Center of Iola, which scooped up baby food, formula, diapers and other things suitable for infants for a bill of more than $3,000. (Another reminder of how expensive it is to start a family.)
Saturday’s six entrants gathered early at the store. As their names were drawn, the first five were awarded incrementally larger gift certificates to G&W from $25 to $125. The last name remaining earned the grand prize of storming the store. 
GRIGSBY gives a lot of credit to G&W manager Dan Gile for his cooperation with the project.
“He absorbs the $5 coupons, Saturday morning’s gift certificates that total $375, and gives us a sizable discount on the final haul,” she said. “We couldn’t do it without his cooperation.”
It should also be noted that G&W is a partner with USD 257 by donating 1% of its sales receipts directed the district’s way.
In the two-and-half years of the program, G&W has given $9,500 to USD 257.
According to Stacey Fager, local superintendent of schools, the money is divided among attendence centers and used to purchase program materials as well as clothing and other necessities for at-risk children.
So when a cashier asks you, “Would you like your receipt?” tell them to direct it to the school district.
