Giant Eagle announced Wednesday it is holding a chainwide one-day event on Nov. 1 that allows customers to convert spare pennies into a Giant Eagle gift card equal to twice the value of the pennies exchanged.
Customers can exchange a minimum of 50 cents and a maximum of $100 in pennies per transaction, meaning the gift cards can range from $1 to $200, according to the press release.
“Retailers across the country are taking steps to maintain adequate supplies of pennies,” Giant Eagle President and CEO Bill Artman said in a statement. “At Giant Eagle, we saw a unique and fun opportunity to reward customers for joining our efforts.”
Giant Eagle said it is hosting this event amid an ongoing penny shortage, which is posing a complicated compliance problem for retailers unable to make exact change.
Currently, the U.S. Department of the Treasury is phasing out production of the penny, and the Federal Reserve has started limiting penny deliveries to banks and commercial customers, according to Giant Eagle’s press release. As a result, the retailer is aiming to temporarily collect pennies to help ensure it can make exact change for cash transactions.
“This proactive step allows the company to maintain accuracy and fairness while it awaits formal guidance from the U.S. government regarding future rounding practices,” Giant Eagle said in its announcement.
The event will run on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at all Giant Eagle and Market District supermarkets. The grocery company has more than 200 locations across Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana.
