Gleaner's road show delights Sav

Karrie Williams, Sunday Gleaner Writer

The town of Savanna-la-Mar in Westmoreland came alive yesterday when the penultimate leg of the Gleaner's Food Month roadshow converged at Shoppers Fair Supermarket in the Beckford Shopping Complex.

Hundreds of shoppers delighted in the bargains rolled out by the many participating entities, including Nestlé, Grace, Ramsons, HD Hopwood and NM Marketing.

According to the coordinator of the event, Hope McMillan-Canaan, the month-long promotion was aimed at encouraging more Jamaicans to embrace the coupon culture which has been very successful in other countries.

''We are trying to push the coupon culture to encourage more Jamaicans to enjoy the benefits that can be derived from couponing,'' she said.

She noted that throughout November, Progressive Food Stores across the island have been offering discounts to shoppers on a wide range of products from various distributors in a promotion dubbed '30 deals in 30 days'.

Yesterday's, activities included fun and games, with participants dressing Cubbies diaper dollies, put on by Ramsons, a domino tournament and a hula-hoop contest.

Using its Supligen brand, Nestlé ran a contest for the younger participants, who eagerly demonstrated their running skills.

Nestlé has been partnering with The Star throughout the month-long festivities to highlight small shopkeepers across the island.

Various Competitions

There were various other competitions throughout the day which awarded prizes to lucky shoppers.

The first shopper to receive a prize was Hazel Valentine, who, after getting over her pleasant surprise, thankfully accepted her gift.

Another shopper, Casandra Ratrie, who travelled from Negril for the event, said she was very happy with the discounts she received.

''This is very good for me; most of the items discounted are what I use on a regular basis," said Ratrie.

"These discounts today give me a little extra cash to take back home and I want to see this continue,'' she added.

According to McMillan-Canaan, The Gleaner plans to continue promoting the use of coupons to shoppers in a partnership with the Mall and Village plazas along Constant Spring Road. A three-day Black Friday sale will be hosted from November 28-30.

Persons with Gleaner coupons will be given additional discounts during the sale.

Saturday's activities in Savanna-la-Mar also included food sampling from Grace and Nestlé, while the Gleaner's music bus had many dancing.

The Gleaner's Food Month promotion culminates next Saturday with the final show slated for Shoppers Fair Supermarket in Greater Portmore, St Catherine.