While many things change in the grocery industry from year to year, one item remains constant – a store’s appreciation for its customers, and its most symbolic gesture of that sentiment – bagging their groceries.

The annual Iowa Best Bagger Contest, hosted by the Iowa Grocery Industry Association, is a significant tribute to this gratitude. Each year, over 400 people gather to view the competition and cheer-on their local grocers.  The competition represents the best sackers in Iowa, given the chance to exhibit their skills against one another, with speed and accuracy. 

“Iowa’s contest is one of the best in this entire country and that’s not by accident,” said Iowa Grocery Industry Association President Jerry Fleagle. “Most of the contestants are able to make bagging groceries an art form. It’s an amazing thing to watch and always electrifies the hundreds of people who attend each year.”

The 2011 Iowa Best Bagger Contest will be held Friday, August 12, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines.  The competition will begin a 1 p.m. on the Budweiser Stage, located immediately south of the main concourse entrance and west of the Varied Industries Building.  As done in previous years, this year’s competition will spotlight eighteen contestants in three preliminary heats and a championship round.

Contestants will bag identical grocery orders consisting of no more than forty commonly purchased items. Each contestant is then evaluated on speed (bagging orders significantly more quickly than the average person), technique (ability to arrange groceries correctly within the bags), and finally, style and attitude (presenting a neat appearance, politeness and conveying a customer-oriented attitude). 

The four baggers who score the most points in the preliminary heats will then compete against each other in the championship to earn cash prizes. The final round will feature two scored heats to determine the overall champion. The top four Iowa baggers receive the following cash prizes: first place receives $500 cash, second place earns $250, while third and fourth place winners receive $150 and $100 in prizes.

The overall Iowa champion also qualifies for a trip for two to the 2012 National Best Bagger Contest, which is held in Las Vegas at the National Grocers Association Convention February 13 – 16.  The winner of the national competition receives a grand prize of $10,000. The second place winner is awarded $5,000 while the third, fourth and fifth place finishers all earn $1,000 each.

“Iowans have always done well at the national competition, winning seven championships in a period of fifteen years,” Fleagle said. “But the state hasn’t had a national winner since 2000, which is something we’re hoping this year’s state winner can change.”

While the judges are tallying the overall scores of the championship round, fans will be treated to the Celebrity Best Bagger Competition. Evaluated strictly on speed and who can have the most fun, the winner of the celebrity contest will earn a traveling trophy to display for one year.

Don’t miss this year’s event – come out and cheer on your local grocer as he/she competes for the title of “Iowa’s Best Bagger”. 

Posters providing details about the event have been sent out to all retail members of the IGIA. Please have all interested employees review the poster, which has information regarding eligibility requirements and registration procedures.

For more information on the 2011 Iowa Best Bagger Contest, please contact Peggy Sellner at 515-270-2628 or psellner@iowagrocers.com.