Chick-fil-A restaurant offering free food for coin exchanges amid national shortage

A Virginia Chick-fil-A restaurant is offering free-food vouchers in exchange for coins.

Why coins?

The move comes amid the national coin shortage spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Thursday, the U.S. Mint issued a statement requesting consumers to begin spending their coins.

According to USA Today, the Mint encouraged consumers to "start spending their coins, depositing them, or exchanging them for currency at financial institutions or taking them to a coin redemption kiosk."

"Until coin circulation patterns return to normal, it may be more difficult for retailers and small businesses to accept cash payments," the Mint said in a statement on the matter. "For millions of Americans, cash is the only form of payment and cash transactions rely on coins to make change."

The Mint said in its Thursday statement that it had been operating at "full production capacity since mid-June, minting almost 1.6 billion coins during the month of June."

So what's the deal with the free food?

Chick-fil-A in Lynchburg, Virginia, said it will hand out free food vouchers to those who bring in $10 in coins to exchange for $10 in paper cash.

The company plans to host the promotion on Wednesday between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m and again between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The Lynchburg location announced the news via Facebook on Sunday.

The restaurant shared a photo of the promotion on its Facebook page, writing, "We need coins and you can help! We need you to bring ROLLED coins to our Wards Road location on Wednesday, July 29th between the hours of 9-11am and 2-4pm to exchange for the same value in paper bills."

"We will thank you with a Chick-fil-A card towards a future purchase," the post added. "Any $10 combination of ROLLED coin denominations accepted. Limited time offer until need is met. Maximum 10 coupons cards per guest. Only at Chick-fil-A Wards Road."