New Orleans Winn-Dixie store No. 1405 and New Orleans Saints defensive team captain Malcolm Jenkins brought the holiday spirit of giving into the homes of 135 local families in a highly-visible “Supermarket Sweep” event Dec. 17.The “sweep,” in which popular New Orleans area TV and radio personalities and Saints “super fans” decked out in festive Saints gear teamed up and squared off to shop for the most food to donate to the needy, put a fun and local twist on charitable giving.Five competing teams were given a list of Winn-Dixie items available throughout the store. They raced up and down the aisles gathering holiday items such as turkeys, canned goods, desserts and much more, as the Saints cheerleaders, customers and spectators cheered them on and helped them out along the way. New Orleans Saints PA announcer Mark Romig called the play-by-play, while Saints super fan Larry “The Sign Guy” rooted for “Team Winn-Dixie.”Once the shopping spree was done, participants raced to the checkout to confirm their lists. The first team to finish the sweep didn’t have gravy and was disqualified. That allowed Jenkins’ team, which included local TV personalities from WGNO-ABC, to be crowned winners of the Supermarket Sweep, receiving a Winn-Dixie catered, Saints-themed tailgate lunch, and bragging rights.“This was such a fun and interactive way for us to give back to our community,” said store No. 1405 director Larry Kearns. “We were also happy to showcase our newly-remodeled store to an audience of key community members and media personalities.”After the race ended, Winn-Dixie presented The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation with a check, which paid for most of the food to be given to the 135 families. Jenkins and Kearns personally delivered boxes of the holiday food items to three local families. The remaining boxes were transported to Winn-Dixie store No. 1329 for distribution.“Having a shared vision and a common goal makes big things happen,” Jenkins said. “Our gratitude and appreciation goes out to our partners at Winn-Dixie for their commitment to fighting hunger in the Greater New Orleans community.”
