CASSOPOLIS — The third time was the charm for Southwestern Michigan College (SMC) as they outswept their competition to emerge as the winning team in Midwest Energy Cooperative’s third annual Supermarket Sweep Food Drive. The event took place Tuesday at Martin’s Supermarket on Sanford School Road in Elkhart, Ind.

Supermarket Sweep is a spirited and competitive “food raiser” that pits team against team for a five- minute sweep of the supermarket to gather grocery items for a beneficiary food pantry.

The team collecting the most items on the provided shopping list wins.

Beneficiary of the 2011 event is ACTION, a coalition of Cass County churches working together to serve and support people through various ministry areas including a food pantry program.

Second place honors went to Cassopolis Elementary School. Scott Wade Construction won the People’s Choice Award for the best decorated cart, as well as the “Crappy Wheel Award” as the team that collected the fewest items on the shopping list.

In total, 13 teams competed in Tuesday’s event, generating $830 in cash and $1,000 in groceries for ACTION. Teams included SMC, Scott Wade Construction, Cass County Council on Aging, Kemner-Iott Insurance Agency, Red Star Auction, Corporate Graphic Solutions, First United Methodist Church (Dowagiac), Cassopolis Elementary School, Cass County Great Start Collaborative, Cass County Family Court, Greater Niles Community Federal Credit Union and two teams from United Way.

“This is really a fun and innovative twist of traditional food drives. ACTION is doing really important work in the community and Midwest Energy is honored to support that through this event. I really appreciate the spirit and creativity of all of our teams, and their willingness to spend a couple of hours of their time to make a huge difference in the lives of local families,” said Nicole Barfell, Midwest Energy Cooperative’s community development specialist and event organizer.