Three GraceKennedy Money Services customers went from empty carts to overflowing trolleys in a flash, winning a whirlwind $1,000 grocery dash at Xtra Valu Food Store.
 
When GKMS, a Western Union agent, contacted Shereka Beckford, Zydon Benjamin and Maneda Jean-Baptiste, the winners all thought it was a scam, despite seeing posters advertising the grocery grab when they used the money transfer service's convenient locations around town.
 
For eight weeks, sending money through GKMS meant a chance to win weekly $100 John Bull gift certificates and, for three lucky customers, a holiday shopping spree to remember.
 
The lucky grand prize winners were told to come to the Nassau Village food store at 10 am Friday, January 19.
 
“I always have persons calling my phone saying I’ve won this or that when I know I haven’t participated in a raffle. I told the first caller, ‘This wasn’t real’,” Ms. Beckford recalled.
 
It was a second call that prompted her to check it out. She reasoned; she had nothing to lose.
 
Arriving at the food store she was surprised by the good news. Ms. Beckford, the proprietor of Jamaican Finger Licken’ Restaurant and Bar, used the opportunity to stock up on supplies for her eatery. She scooped up takeaway containers, cooking oil, condiments, meat, and an assortment of beverages, among other items.
 
“I came into the new year winning. I couldn’t believe it,” Beckford marveled.
 
When her fellow grocery dasher, Mr. Benjamin got the call, he did a doubletake.
 
“I wanted it to be real but there are a lot of scammers. I expected them to say, ‘You won but you have to send me some money. When I realized I won for real I wanted to scream out loud, but I was in the office.’”
 
He uses GKMS to send money to his relatives in Grenada.
 
“My mom needs what she needs so I provide it and my sister is in high school,” Mr. Benjamin explained.
 
He admits he was not prepared for the grocery grab. He got stumped in one department – wholesale.
 
“I literally couldn’t make it out of the section. I kept trying to figure out what to take. I was so overwhelmed, there were so many things in there.”
 
He grabbed an air fryer and plunked it into his trolley, then came water, juice, candy, and cereal. It proved too much for him to get from point A to point B. Winners get to keep the unused portion of their $1,000 limit for later use, which he did.
 
“The surprise was literally off the chain. Many thanks to GraceKennedy,” said Mr. Benjamin.
 
He was not the only winner bagging unexpected items that day. Ms. Jean-Baptiste did something similar when she grabbed a huge pot.
 
“Every January 1, Haitian people make pumpkin soup and that’s when I will use it. I got it but I don’t need it now,” she explained. “I just pick up, pick up, pick up.”
 
The windfall event caught her by surprise. She used the service to send money to her family in Haiti and occasionally to the United States. When she arrived at the store, she expected to win a $100 gift card at most.
 
Crammed next to her pot, she threw in dog food, bags of rice, cases of juice and other goods she thought would last for a while.
 
 “I come into 2024 feeling like a winner,” exclaimed Ms Jean Baptiste.