Grocery Outlet, serving its community
Darol Lortz, of Kellogg, recently won the $1,000 in free groceries from Grocery Outlet in Smelterville.
Photo courtesy of MELINDA PARKS
SMELTERVILLE — Since its grand opening in October, Grocery Outlet: Bargain Market has made its presence widely known as a community staple.
This is predominantly because of the effort of the owner, Melinda Parks, who was born and raised in the Silver Valley.
During the grand opening, the store donated $1,000 to the Silver Valley Snak Program, which helps feed students at Pinehurst Elementary School (PES) and Kellogg Middle School (KMS) who experience food insecurity over the weekends and holidays.
Parks, with the help of Nickerson Towing, also provided 490 pumpkins to the students at PES, so every student went home with a pumpkin for Halloween.
The most recent goodwill gesture came from a $1,000 in free groceries awarded to Silver Valley man Darol Lortz.
Lortz has lived in Kellogg for around 18 years, working as a miner at Green Creek Mine, based in Alaska and owned and operated by Hecla Mining Company.
“Prices have gone up, and I have a son that’s growing like a weed and this will help get him all the food and snacks he needs,” Lortz said.
Parks has set up different community events like the Tree Lighting Festival at Silver Mountain and the Worship Center Community Christmas Dinner handing out free cookies and coupons.
The Smelterville store often holds special sales posted to their social media, like the current wine sale from Dec. 16-27, where customers can get a 20% discount on all wines.
Lortz added, “I would like to give a thank you to Melinda Parks. I’m glad she came back to the Valley and built her store here.”
Grocery Outlet is a third-generation family-led company founded in 1946, offering customers significant savings on brand-name products.
The company has more than 400 locations throughout California, Idaho, Maryland, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. Located at 20 Nearing Way in Smelterville and is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information about Grocery Outlet, please visit groceryoutlet.com.
Follow Smelterville Grocery Outlet on Facebook: @Smeltervillegroceryoutlet