Best Grocery Bagger in Minnesota On to National Competition

Sandstone College Student Has Chance to Be Bagging Champion in Las Vegas

SANDSTONE, Minn. – A grocery bagger recently won the state bagging competition and will now compete for the national title in Las Vegas.

Seth Allen has been bagging groceries for more than three years at Chris’ Food Center in Sandstone.

“I never thought I would be a professional bagger per se, it’s not something that as a kid you think this is what I want to do,” says Allen.

And he’s put a lot of hard work into mastering his skills.

“It’s a craft really and just being able to look at a table and be like ‘oh this is how I’m going to do it in a very short amount of time’ is something that is not very easy to do,” says Allen.

Now, Seth is the Minnesota grocery bagging champion.

“It kind of feels like you are representing the whole state.”

The latest in a long history of bagging champions from Chis’. The small town store has produced 11 state title winners since 1991.

“We have good quality kids that work here and, over the years, it was very competitive with each other,” says store owner and former state bagging champion Craig Thorvig.

But no Minnesotan has ever won the national title. Something Seth has a chance to do next week in Las Vegas.

“As far as I know, I think there’s hundreds if not thousands of people in the same ballroom yelling and screaming at the same time,” says Allen.

But in Las Vegas, competitors aren’t just evaluated on speed. They’re also judged on bagging technique and weight. So strategy is important.

“As soon as you get your bag open, you’ll be looking for tall items kind of like this that kind of help make your bag stand up,” says Allen.

Preparation is important too.

“I practice a lot. I’ve been practicing every day for the last month now,” says Allen.

Seth has a lot of people in his corner.

“Everybody in the community that’s seen him work here in the past four or five years is cheering for him,” says Thorvig.

He even has former competitors offering advice.

“All the other people, they’re going to be just as nervous as him, if not more nervous,” says former Minnesota bagging champion and 2nd place national finisher Jon Sandell, who also works at Chris’. “So the thing is just be calm and cool and just do what you need to do.”

Seth is confident he can be in the running for the title.

“I’m not focusing on the competition. I’m focusing on what I’m doing and keeping it straight forward,” says Allen.

But even if he doesn’t win, Seth has a lot of people who believe in him.

“He’s a great person. He’s going to be very successful in life and whoever gets him as a long term employee after he graduates from college is going to be very, very fortunate,” says Thorvig.