SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR) – A supermarket chain operating across several states in the Northeast is tackling the current penny shortage by hosting a “Double Exchange Day” for customers.
Shoppers at Price Chopper and Market 32 stores, which can be found in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, are being asked to bring in loose or wrapped pennies in exchange for a Price Chopper gift card worth double the value of their change.
“Exchanges must total a minimum of 50 cents (earning a $1 card) and may not exceed $100 (earning a $200 card),” reads a Price Chopper press release.
The promotion, however, is good for one day only, on Nov. 16, and only between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Blaine Bringhurst, president of Market 32 and Price Chopper, said this week that the company launched its “Double Exchange Day” initiative to help serve customers who prefer to pay in cash at the stores.
“We also know a lot of families across our six-state footprint are facing hardships right now, and this is another unique way our team is working to provide support,” Bringhurst said in a press release ahead of the “Double Exchange Day” event.
Mike Weisse, one of the managers at the Price Chopper in Cicero, New York, told NewsNation affiliate WSYR that he could foresee a situation “where we might not have enough pennies to get us through the holiday season.” And Price Chopper isn’t alone in its concerns. Other retailers have complained that the federal government’s phaseout of the penny was abrupt and came with no official guidance on how to handle transactions.
Some businesses are rounding prices down to avoid shortchanging shoppers. Others are pleading with customers to bring exact change. The more creative among them gave out prizes, such as a free drink, in exchange for a pile of pennies.
“We have been advocating abolition of the penny for 30 years. But this is not the way we wanted it to go,” Jeff Lenard of the National Association of Convenience Stores said last month.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Mint also pressed its last-ever penny, months after production of the one-cent coin had largely ended. During the final pressing, workers at the Philadelphia Mint stood quietly on the factory floor as if bidding farewell to an old friend. When the last coins emerged, the men and women broke into applause and cheered one another.
“It’s an emotional day,” said Clayton Crotty, who has worked at the mint for 15 years. “But it’s not unexpected.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.