The stakes were high as Lt. Greg Bock ran through the Muscatine, Iowa, HyVee store, snatching staples like peanut butter, cereal, macaroni and cheese and soup off the shelves. He had just five minutes to make it back to the checkout, not with groceries for his own family, but with up to $1,000 worth of food for the corps pantry which fills empty stomachs throughout the year.
The Salvation Army’s pantry shelves are full thanks to a generous donor who’d won a charity raffle from the Boys and Girls Club and YMCA entitling him to a five-minute, $1,000 grocery grab. After winning the prize, the donor realized how much others in the community could benefit from it and
decided to split the prize between two agencies whose pantries keep Muscatine fed. Joining in the generosity, the Bayer Monsanto Company matched the original prize, giving each organization up to
$1,000 to spend within the time frame.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Lt. Greg, Muscatine corps officer. “It was a great way to collaborate as a community and showed that one act of generosity can spur a big chain reaction.”
The lieutenant managed to snag just over $600 worth of groceries during his grab, and HyVee came
through with a gift card for the balance, ensuring the pantry would be filled with $1,000 worth of food for distribution to families in need.
“The Salvation Army has been at the forefront of meeting the real-time needs of this community,” concluded Lt. Greg. “People know they can come to us for help. We’re thankful for this donation which
helped fill our pantry.”