Local families in need ‘shop like Kings’ at Raley’s event

Tadeo Baltazar will turn 2 the day after Thanksgiving. His big sister, Isabella, picks him out a birthday cake as he watches Coco on his mom’s cellphone while sitting in a shopping cart.

Oh, and Sacramento Kings center Kosta Koufos is pushing the cart.

That was the norm at Raley’s on Fair Oaks Boulevard on Wednesday evening, as the Kings hosted the first annual “Shop Like a King” event with Raley’s and the Sacramento Food Bank.

Ten needy families were invited to pair up with a Kings player or coach and shop for the upcoming holidays. They picked out Thanksgiving turkeys, produce, snacks and drinks — and were encouraged to go all out.

The families didn’t have to worry about pantry staples, because Raley’s provided every family a bag full of kitchen necessities, like rice, beans, pasta, eggs, bread and salt and pepper.

Tadeo’s mom, Pearl Baltazar, was invited by the Sacramento Food Bank, where she attends parent education classes. As Koufos bagged her groceries, she called the experience “overwhelming.”

“It’s amazing. To be able to go home and stock the fridge with all these groceries, it’s amazing,” Baltazar said. She said the event was “very warm” and said Koufos was “nothing but very good to us.”

Kings assistant coach Bryan Gates said the event was “great.”

“It’s always fun to meet new people, some new Kings fans and spend some one-on-one time with them,” Gates said.