By Scott Rasmussen

The winner of the drawing, Twoie Ridgway, handed off the task of plundering the shelves to daughter Sarah, who then got a shopping-cart assist from son Donald, and mother and son sped through the aisles to amass a total of $632 worth of groceries and merchandise, Tuesday, in Kings Market annual pre-Thanksgiving Day shopping spree, sponsored by San Juan Island Lions Club.

Galt acknowledged beginning the spree without a clear-cut plan of attack, and that the four-minute time limit flew by like a flash. She spent the final 30 seconds frantically searching for just about anything that bore a gluten-free label.

“It’s a lot harder than you’d think, but fun,” she said. “I’m sure my kids are going to be happy.”

With a $50 dollar gift certificate for meat products and a ring out at the check-out stand of $582.52, the Galt family’s haul proved to be among the highest since the annual event began 17 years ago. It falls far short of the $736.33 mark set a year ago by Barbara Cable, one of the highest ever, but well above the 2010 total of $593 gathered by Rusty Argall in 2010.

Bob Nieman of the Lions Club said totals typically weigh in somewhere between $500 and $580. He said about half of the time that raffle winners donate their stockpile to the Friday Harbor Food Bank, but that each is free to do as they choose.

Among the boxes of groceries amassed by Team Galt, were an assortment of cereal, chips, a container of Quaker Oats and a 20-pound bag of Western Family “Chunky Style” adult dog food.

In addition to the raffle’s top prize, a four-minute frantic dash down the aisles, the annual drawing includes three winning tickets for a free turkey.

Proceeds from the annual shopping spree raffle drawing benefit the Lions scholarship program for island high school graduates. Ticket sales for this year’s event generated roughly $1,550, according to the Lions Brian Brown.