Cornwall Banger Rally Challenge, the team behind the Vienna or Bust banger rally challenge for 2025, hosted their annual Supermarket Sweep in St Austell’s ASDA store on Sunday (December 8).

The always entertaining and fun outing saw the team purchase £920 of food and raise the equivalent of 1.444.8 tonnes for St Austell Foodbank, the largest total the fundraising event has donated since its inception.

The seven competing teams taking part, suitably attired in fancy dress, were given £100 and a list of items that the foodbank needs. In 15 minutes, they must, with no running, get everything on the list, make it up to as close to £100 as possible and get to the checkout first.

First prize went to The Monkeys, with The Cornish Maids and Guy, Elf and Brodie coming second and third respectively. In a heartwarming gesture, all the winning teams donated their prize money to St Austell Foodbank.

After the sweep, the ralliers stuck around to give out cards to the general public entering the store, asking if they could get any extra items in their trolley that is off the foodbank’s list that they desperately need before Christmas.

The rally team then visited the foodbank where a thankful Andy Payne announced to the crew how much they and the general public raised once all 1.444.8 tonnes of food was delivered.

Asda will also be donating an additional sum to the foodbank based on the total weight of food collected.

The Supermarket Sweep is just one of many events held by Cornwall Banger Rally Challenge throughout the year to support the local community. This food will prove vital for struggling families in St Austell and the surrounding areas over the Christmas period.

Posting on their Facebook page, St Austell Foodbank said: “Thanks to the amazing efforts of the Cornwall Banger Rally Challenge team and generosity of Asda customers, we’ve received almost 1.5 tonnes of food - our largest single-day donation ever!

“This, alongside considerable monetary donations, will go a long way in supporting our mission. These remarkable efforts will make a massive impact on the lives of many local people this Christmas and beyond.”

The Supermarket Sweep caps off a terrific year for the Cornwall Banger Rally Challenge crew who raised more than £55,500 for local and national charities after participating in Split or Bust back in September. The popular Cornball24 banger rally event also raised more than £4,900 for multiple good causes when it took place back in May.