Hundreds of students gathered at Pruis Hall the evening of Jan. 25 to try and win groceries and kitchen appliances by playing bingo.
Grocery Bingo, a University Program Board event, brought more than 600 students together last semester, said Jazzmyne Wilson. There are 10 rounds of bingo, with 10 winners each round.
Wilson, a sophomore health education and promotion major, serves as the UPB director of special events.
See more photos from Grocery Bingo here.
While she wasn't sure exactly how long UPB has hosted this event, she said she knows it’s been a well-attended event for years now.
"People just expect it now, each semester," Wilson said. "It's just so fun and definitely our most popular event."
One student, Amanda Corda, called herself and her group of friends "seasoned veterans" of the game. This was their fourth time playing.
"Every time I've been [to the event], we've won something," Corda said. "But our first time, we won big."
After taking chocolate syrup, mac and cheese, jelly rolls, ramen noodles, pomegranate juice and more back to their dorms their first time, Corda said they have wanted to keep playing ever since.
"It's stuff we don't really need," Corda said. "But it's free. Free stuff."
Corda did come close to winning big again this year in a "Minute to Win It" game for an appliance. The goal was to build a tower with red solo cups in one minute, and Corda received second place against student Natalia Hay.
Hay, a junior nursing major, took home a brand new Keurig for her win in the game. It was her first time attending Grocery Bingo, and she said she never expected to win anything.
Corda, who thought for sure she had won, was sad to go home empty-handed.
"I felt like Miss Colombia – crowned for two seconds," Corda said. "I was so close, yet so far away."
Other students had better luck. In a dance-off competition, junior general studies major Sarah Garner said she got the win with her more than 10 years of clogging and tap experience.
Though Garner lives off campus and could use the groceries, she instead chose a new microwave to give to her sister who needs one.
Many students who come to Grocery Bingo do live off campus, said Alex Varney, a sophomore architecture major and UPB member. He said these students sometimes need the groceries more than on-campus students.
"Regardless, students just want the free stuff," Varney said. "I mean, free laundry detergent? Students kill for that."
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