Food bank stops giving out gift cards

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In an attempt to give clients more choice, the Loaves and Fishes Food Bank has been handing out Zehrs gift cards, but that practice has now ended because of suggestions that the cards were being inappropriately used.

Don Mertens, chair of the food bank board, said last week that the gift cards allowed clients to get items such as baby food and gluten-free products at the supermarket. He said the food bank began giving out the cards during COVID-19. Another advantage of the cards was that people didn't have to leave the food bank with heavy loads.

However, while stressing that there was only hearsay to go on and no actual proof, Mertens said the food bank began hearing that some people were using the cards to purchase alcohol at the supermarket. Again stressing there was no proof, he said they also heard that some people were reselling the gift cards. He said the food bank started seeing people who only wanted cards.

"This is not right," Mertens said. "We're not judgmental, but we can't go on doing this. We're now 100-per-cent focused on providing food."

He said the cards would work as desired if the supermarket allowed them to be used for food purchases only, but such cards are not available. Now, instead of buying the gift cards, Loaves & Fishes uses that money to buy more food instead. Clients receive a week's worth of food once a month.

"Now we're adding more food and more variety," Mertens said.

He said clients were given three month's notice that the gift card program was ending. He said nobody complained, but the food bank did notice a slight decline in clients after the gift cards were ended.

However, gift cards are not completely gone. Loaves and Fishes is providing gift cards for Kawartha Dairy and Mertens said those cards can be tracked.