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Kroger stores to stop giving coins as change

Kroger stores in Indiana are adapting to a nationwide shortage of coins by not handing them back in change on cash transactions.
Credit: Associated Press
In this June 15, 2017, file photo, bagged purchases from the Kroger grocery store in Flowood, Miss., sit inside this shopping cart. (AP/ROGER V SOLIS)

INDIANAPOLIS — Kroger customers paying with cash will not be getting coins handed back in change starting Monday or Tuesday.

A nationwide shortage of coins during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Federal Reserve, is partly behind the grocer's decision that was announced Friday.

Kroger spokesman Eric Halvorson told 13 News, "Until the shortage abates, customers paying with cash will have two easy options. Cashiers will advise them that, instead of returning coins as change, the amount will be added to (their) loyalty card and will automatically be applied to the customers’ next Kroger purchase."

"Cashiers will also offer the opportunity to 'round up' to donate that change to the Zero Hunger|Zero Waste Foundation, supporting the service of their local food bank," Halvorson said.

The Federal Reserve said in mid-June that the COVID‐19 pandemic has significantly disrupted the supply chain and normal circulation patterns for U.S. coins. Also, the U.S. Mint's production of coins decreased due to staffing adjustments during the pandemic.

RELATED: Pandemic causes national coin shortage, impacts felt in Tennessee

RELATED: Kroger to donate 200,000 gallons of milk to food banks through summer

 

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