Utz treats York family to factory outlet shopping spree in Hanover

Maeve Scheler remembers what her mom told her the first time they stepped into the Utz factory store in Hanover.

"Now remember, this isn't a free-for-all shopping spree," Maeve, 12, recalled her mom, Amanda Scheler, saying.

On Wednesday afternoon, however, it truly was a free-for-all shopping spree for the Schelers.

That's all thanks to Utz, which gave the Scheler family their very own Utz shopping spree in honor of their family tradition of starting each summer with a trip to the Utz factory outlet store.

The Scheler family, of York, came to the attention of the company with their submission to the 'Utz Ultimate Fan' contest, which saw over 3,300 entries compete for a lifetime supply of Utz snacks. While the Scheler family didn't win the contest's grand prize, the Utz team said they were "touched" by the Scheler family's tradition and wanted to give them a day to remember.

When Amanda got the email informing her of the free-for-all shopping spree, it didn't take long for the whole family to find out.

"I was online with my friends, and they asked me if someone was dying in the background," said Ezra of the moment his mom got the email from Utz.

"I kind of laughed uncontrollably," said Amanda.

The Schelers family, composed of parents Chris and Amanda, son Ezra, 13, daughter Maeve, 12, and youngest son Jonas, 7, were picked up in a limo to begin their day.

The family was taken on a private tour of the company's Kindig Lane factory, where they were able to see how cheeseballs were made, talk on walkie talkies, and get an inside look at the company's operations.

From the factory, the family was taken in the limo to the factory outlet store to begin their free-for-all shopping spree.

Though you might imagine such big fans of the snacks would rush through the door and grab everything they could see, the children were off to a slow start.

Ezra, the oldest, filled a rolling basket to the brim with his favorite snacks not long after stepping into the store. By the time Ezra's basket was full, Jonas' shopping cart consisted of a bag of pretzels and an Utz football.

Mom Amanda attributes that to the shopping discipline she's had to instill in them for previous trips to the outlet, "It's probably because we typically have to keep it reasonable," she said.

After some time in the store, Maeve and Jonas were able to catch up to Ezra's full basket, filling their shopping carts with hundreds of dollars of boxes of their favorite snacks, Utz T-shirts, Utz water bottles, and other merchandise.

As for those favorite snacks, Maeve and Jonas were in agreement: the original Utz chips were their favorite. For Ezra? It's the pretzels.

Through all of the snacks and fun, Maeve's favorite part of the day remained the limo:

"When I got in the limo, I felt like the Lego batman," said Maeve.

Harrison Jones is the Hanover reporter for the Evening Sun. Reach him at hjones@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Hanover Evening Sun: Utz treats York family to shopping spree in Hanover