Manitoba man receives $500 bid for two bags of chips, including Bugles

The bags of chips that are up for auction. (Source: Ray Baloun)

A Manitoba man has received a $500 bid for two bags of chips no longer available in Canada that he’s auctioning off to help those in need.

Ray Baloun, who lives in Minnedosa, is auctioning off two types of chips that are no longer sold in Canada – Bugles and Uncle Ray’s. The proceeds from the auction will be split between a local food bank of the winner’s choice, and the Kernels of Hope project with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

“The word fun is in fundraiser, I tell people,” he said in an interview on Wednesday.

Baloun said he got the idea for the auction after reading a story about a woman who did a raffle with a bag of Bugles, and got some of his friends to pick up some chips in North Dakota.

Initially, he was going to do the chip auction at the community Christmas Day dinner that he puts together. However, on Saturday morning, Baloun realized he couldn’t wait until Christmas and texted about 20 people to see if they’d be interested in bidding on the prize.

“I’ve been getting so many smiles from it, because the bids went from $20 on Saturday morning to $100 to $200, $225, $400, $425 and then right to $500 now,” he said, adding that some people have even offered to give him the money without winning the prize.

Baloun said he’s surprised that he’s been able to get a $500 bid for the bags of chips, as he initially thought he’d get $100.

He said he wanted to do this auction as a way to help support those in need, especially with rising costs.

“If people don’t have food, what else is more important?” Baloun said.

“I thought the food bank locally in town, with inflation and shrinkflation, that more and more people are needing that.”

The bidding is still open for the Bugles and Uncle Ray’s, with the winner receiving one bag of each. For those who want to help Baloun’s cause, he suggested donating to your local food bank.

The auction will close at the community Christmas dinner in Minnedosa.