Chick-fil-A locations offer free food for coins amid national shortage

Two Chick-fil-A locations have gotten creative to combat coin shortages at the restaurants as they offered free food in exchange for $10 in change.

The restaurants in Huntsville, Alabama, and Lynchburg, Virginia, announced the special offer for bringing in $10 in rolled change and set a limit of 10 trade-ins per customer

The Huntsville location recently posted on Facebook that it now has enough coins to last for the next few weeks, but there may need to be another day to bring in coins soon.

“We can’t say this enough but we have the absolute best customers,” the post reads. “Because of all of you we were able to get enough coins to last us a couple of weeks.”

The Lynchburg Chick-fil-A posted online that it will have a similar offer on Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m. and from 2 to 4 p.m.

The Huntsville location specified a free sandwich card, whereas the Lynchburg restaurant’s post listed multiple options. Lynchburg participants will receive a voucher for a free fried or grilled chicken sandwich or eight-count chicken nuggets.

Both locations will give participants $10 in bills and the card, meaning the food is free as a result of participating in the offer.

Chick-fil-A did not respond immediately to CNBC’s request for comment.

Both locations attributed the need for change to a national coin shortage, which has been linked to less money flowing through the economy as a result of coronavirus-related closures, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in June. The state-imposed business closures prompted a slowing in the rate at which physical cash and coinage is exchanged as many used online payment systems.

The U.S. Mint, which manufactures coins, in a statement last week asked the American public to start spending or depositing their coins to help keep the supply up.