Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, October 23, 1994                   TAG: 9410240077
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MARYNELL EYLES THE WINCHESTER STAR
DATELINE: WINCHESTER (AP)                                LENGTH: Medium

ALL WAS FREE IN THIS SHOPPING SPREE

But the warning didn't deter Jennifer Hokenson, cashier and daughter of the only customers - her parents - in her checkout line at Martin's Supermarket.

After the second message, Jennifer looked plaintively at her customer-service manager, Maria Bailey, who waved a coded card in front of the scanner, clearing the computer's brain for another onslaught of free-food coupons.

It was midday, a slow time in the grocery store, and Sue Hokenson, the self-proclaimed ``Coupon Queen,'' and George Hokenson of Berryville were setting out to buy groceries without using dollars and cents.

The operative word for the shopping spree was ``coupon,'' and each coupon bore the same four-letter word: ``FREE.'' Whether meat, dairy goods, frozen food, cleaning materials, poultry, medications or shampoos, all the items put into the three carts the Hokensons pushed and pulled through the store matched a redeemable coupon.

Adding to the simple volume of the purchases, many of the Hokensons' coupons were ``Buy one, get one free.'' The shopping started at 1:30 p.m. George was assigned ``Cart A.'' Sue, in her specially printed ``Coupon Queen'' T-shirt, took ``Cart B'' and Jennifer pushed ``Cart C.'' ``This is probably the hardest thing I've ever had to organize,'' Sue said as she guided her cart through Martin's pasta section. ``We will give some of the food to our daughter and we'll stockpile the [rest].''

George Hokenson is a police officer at Dulles Airport. He also has demonstrated that he's a very patient man, and he believes in his wife's efforts to reduce their food budget.

``I feel it's foolish not to shop with coupons,'' George said. ``If you save $45 when you spend a total of $150 at the grocery store, it's definitely worthwhile. I'm always amazed that people who use food stamps don't also use coupons.''

The three carts were pushed slowly up the soup aisle. One coupon offered a free can for every two purchased.

``What kind of soup do you like, George?'' Sue asked, telling him to pick out his favorites. She then sent him on to the cereal section armed with two-for-one coupons. His cart soon overflowed with stacks of Rice Chex, Wheat Chex and other good-for-you cereals.

Sue's addiction to coupon clipping and refunding started years ago after she had surgery on her back. Since then, she's had four back operations.

``Coupon clipping and refunding is my job,'' she said. ``And it keeps me in contact with the outside world. I've also made friends throughout the country, because I do so many of the refunding programs advertised in my magazines." ``I started collecting these coupons I've got today in May, using the Meal Menu deal in my Refunding magazine. I had to go to six stores in three different states to find the Kool-Aid packages that had special coupons inside. I ended up with about 8,000 packages of Kool-Aid. I ran an ad in the magazine to trade the ... [bar codes] for free-food coupons.''

The Hokenson family shopping spree ended at 4:30 p.m. after Jennifer had totaled food items worth $228.14. When the adding and subtraction was done, Sue Hokenson got 87 cents in change. And she still has many coupons to redeem.