U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) is getting faster and more efficient bagging groceries at Safeway. It’s his experience.

For the second year, Connolly has participated in Safeway’s breast cancer awareness and research campaign. On Oct. 31, at the Nutley Street Safeway, the first-term congressman, sporting a pink ribbon over his Safeway apron, filled customers’ bags with their groceries, explaining to constituents who asked why he was there. He was chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors during his last Safeway stint.

“Breast cancer hits one out of three household in America,” said Connolly. “There’s too many deaths every year. We need to push for early diagnosis, effective treatment, and further research to find a cure.”

A representative from Safeway corporate offices contacted Connolly’s office a month ago, asking if he would be willing to participate once again. He did not hesitate to accept.

Connolly’s first resolution in the House of Representatives, H. CON. RES. 109, passed unanimously in the House and Senate on June 6 He appeared at the 20th anniversary of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in the Nation's Capital where posters reproduced his resolution.

SOME SAFEWAY SHOPPERS recognized Connolly immediately. Others suspected he was not really a Safeway employee and asked the checker who the bagger was. Unlike the authentic Safeway staff, Connolly did not wear a nametag or any other means of identification.

“I was tipped off,” said Dana Stenhouse of Fairfax. “He, obviously, was not an employee.

“I think his presence here helps. It’s important to reach out to the community and bagging groceries is a good way to bring awareness. He’s humbling himself. That’s a nice touch for a politician.”

William Reader’s sister-in-law is dealing with breast cancer, and, for Reader, of Vienna, an elected official trying to raise awareness is helpful to the cause. “It’s nice to see a congressman in a real-world setting," Reader said.

Robert Stoner, a 21-year-old from the United Kingdom now living in Fairfax, thought that the donation boxes at each check-out were noticeable, but commented that he felt the congressman and his cause would have had greater exposure at the entrance.

“Everybody knows somebody affected by breast cancer,” said Genise White of Fairfax. Her grandmother had the disease 70 years ago but survived and lived to be 95. “Politicians working to raise money for a cause is a good thing,” White said.