Supermarket spree benefits Westmoreland County Food Bank

Looking winded but triumphant, Michael Kornides took a swig of water and pondered what he had just done.

In the course of three minutes Monday morning, he had filled four shopping carts with more than $1,000 worth of food for the Westmoreland County Food Bank.

“Of course, in the heat of the action, I forgot some things. That's the way it goes, but I got most of what they needed,” he said.

Kornides, 57, of Unity, participated in the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania's annual holiday shopping spree at the Charley Family Shop 'n Save in Murrysville. A senior tax analyst at Kennametal, he won the spree through the United Way's donor prize program.

“I had a list of charities to choose from, and I figured nothing's more basic than the food bank,” he said.

Employees who participate in their company's United Way campaign qualify for the shopping spree by increasing their annual donation by $52 or more. Winners, chosen from a random drawing, get not only a $250 Shop 'n Save gift card but also a chance to shop for the needy.

Charley Family Shop 'n Save stores have participated in the Christmas fundraiser for 10 years, said owner Ray Charley. The family owns two Greensburg stores and the Murrysville store, which it bought in 2014.

Kornides said he scoped out the Murrysville store Sunday night, determining where all the products were.

“I called (the food bank) and saw what their top needs were. They told me a lot of high-protein things and gave me some suggestions,” he said.

At 9:45 a.m. Monday, he took his cart to the starting line in the produce section and awaited the 10-second countdown. Four cheerleaders from the Franklin Regional School District, as well as officials from the United Way, Shop 'n Save and Kennametal, were there to cheer him on.

Kornides, who plays basketball in the fall and winter, raced around the store filling one shopping cart after another. He started with a shopping cart filled with tuna and chicken packets, took it to the cash register and grabbed another shopping cart.

He went down Aisle 5 for peanut butter, Aisle 2 for cereal and Aisle 4 for soup. Someone in his cellphone-carrying entourage yelled out “mac 'n' cheese,” but Kornides could not return to an aisle he had already visited.

At the end of the spree, a cashier rang up a grocery bill totaling $1,019.64, while Charley's sons, Mike and Tom, helped box up the food items. Shop 'n Save donated the items to the Food Bank.

Stephen Huba is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-1280, shuba@tribweb.com or via Twitter @shuba_trib.