New supply of Island gift cards going into stores Thursday

A new run of Canada's Food Island Gift Cards will be restocked Thursday across the Island, after the first printing sold out in about a week.

The cards encouraging people to spend locally will be on sale for $40 each, or 20 per cent off their face value of $50, while supplies last or until Nov. 15.

The two-year initiative was designed to give local businesses a boost during the COVID-19 pandemic, since the cards are redeemable at more than 175 merchants on P.E.I.

"They can only be spent on the Island," saidKent Thompson, with the Food Island Partnership. "We're actually kind of considering: [Are] there ways that we can sell them to people that are considering a trip to PEI and then just use them when they come here?"

As of Tuesday, more than 1,400 gift card transactions had been recorded across Prince Edward Island, from the first run of 5,000 cards that went on sale in late September.

When the first run sold out, officials said an additional 20,000 cards would arrive at the end of October.

Cards can be bought as of Thursday, Oct. 29 at all Mel's Convenience and Murphy's Pharmacylocations, as well as Co-op stores in Tignish, O'Leary and Souris.

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