New Hampshire

NH Woman Competing to Be Fastest Bagger in Nation

A New Hampshire woman is competing to become the fastest bagger in the nation. Alysha Orrok, who works at Hannaford in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, just won the state bagging competition.

We all know what can happen when fresh foods end up in a grocery bag with canned vegetables.

"I don’t want them mushed together," said Kim Colter, who was shopping at the Hannaford Supermarket.

"I don’t want my bread smashed," said customer Frank Desper.

Shoppers here can rest assured that will never happen, as long as Orrok is at the end of your line.

"When I am here, people get excited when I am bagging their groceries," she said, laughing.

Orrok won the state bagging competition and is headed to Las Vegas in February to compete for the national title.

"Every time I go to grocery store I have a big pet peeve of how groceries are packed, so I am thrilled to hear there is a competition in bagging," said one of Orrok’s regular customers, Kashka Hughes Clark.

Orrok is a teacher by day and works at the grocery store on nights and weekends.

She says, believe it or not, bagging is a skill all employees must learn.

"Hannaford has intense videos you have to watch," she said.

During the competitions, baggers are judged on speed, weight distribution of the bag, technique, and appearance. But Orrok admits she wasn’t always this good.

"My first day as a bagger I dropped a soda and it exploded everywhere," she said.

That hasn’t happened since, and after the state competition, she’s confident she’s got the national title in the bag.

"I just went so fast I was like ten seconds faster than the next person," Orrok said. "I feel like I get in the zone and I just fly."

And in this case, time is money - the nation’s fastest bagger goes home $10,000.

"It’s super exciting, I hope she wins," Colter said.

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