Minnesota Grocers Association’s Bipartisan Bag-Off Set for Saturday

(KNSI) – Some Minnesota lawmakers will be bagging groceries for charity this weekend.

On Saturday, the Minnesota Grocers Association will hold its Bipartisan Bag-Off and Best Bagger Contest. For the bag-off, a lawmaker from each state legislative caucus and one representative from the governor’s administration will compete. This year, that’s Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Thom Peterson, GOP Sen. Zach Duckworth, DFL Sen. Matt Klein, DFL Rep. Heather Edelson and GOP Rep. Peggy Scott.

“It’s a lot of fun,” MGA President Jamie Pfuhl told KNSI’s Dan “The Ox” Ochsner. “They do a pretty decent job, usually, and then we give a donation to the food charity of their choice.”

Each lawmaker gets $500 to give to charity, with the winner of the competition receiving $1,000 for charity. While bagging groceries, they’ll be judged on speed, style, attitude, weight distribution and bag building technique.

“There’s a whole criteria for bagging structure: how you build the base, make sure there’s no glass touching glass, you don’t crush the chips or smash the eggs,” Pfuhl said.

However, participants don’t need to worry about asking “paper or plastic?”

“We have special reusable bags that we use just to be mindful of our commitment to the environment,” Pfuhl said.

The Bipartisan Bag-Off coincides with the MGA’s Best Bagger Contest, where six actual grocery baggers from across the state compete for prize money and a chance to advance to the National Best Bagger Championship.

It happens Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at MGA’s headquarters in St. Paul. The events will also be livestreamed on the association’s Facebook page.

___