Coventry woman, R.I. champion grocery bagger, goes for national title

COVENTRY When Samantha Falkowski has time off work, you can often find her in Dave’s Fresh Marketplace bagging groceries to keep her skills sharp.

It’s not just that the 22-year-old wants to be good at her job; it’s because she wants to be the best bagger in the United States.

She will get her shot at that title on Monday, when, as the Rhode Island state champion, she competes in the National Grocers Association’s Best Bagger National Championship in San Diego, competing against some two dozen local champions from around the country.

“I’m in it to win it,” says Falkowski, who has worked part-time at Dave’s since she turned 16 and was a student at Coventry High School. (She also works part-time as a technician in the emergency room at South County Hospital and is a nursing student at the University of Rhode Island.)

But for a couple of hours a week, you can find her bagging groceries for no one.

“I come here on my time off, close down a register and practice,” she said, admitting to being “very competitive.”

“I like applying it when I actually work,” she said, noting that she competes against herself by checking the screen on the cash register that tracks how fast groceries are bagged. “I like seeing the number go up.”

On an average day, she bags 25 to 30 items a minute.

She attributes her skill to the six years of practice she’s had working at the Dave’s store in Coventry Shoppers Park.

What are her secrets to speed bagging?

“Picking up like items at a time,” she said. “You can pick up two cans in each hand, so that saves time.”

And what’s kryptonite to speed bagging?

Six-packs of soda, because they’re heavy to lift.

Falkowski can bag an entire order in less than a minute when she’s on the aptly named express register, which draws comments from customers. “They say, ’You’re so quick I didn’t even see you do it.’ ”

When she’s in California, she hopes to visit the San Diego Zoo before the competition. “Keeping my mind off the stress of it.”

But then again, “It will be good to go for the big one.”

pparker@providencejournal.com

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