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Charlottetown Salvation Army to give out grocery gift cards

Salvation Army Capt. Jamie Locke sad to leave P.E.I.

The Salvation Army in Charlottetown is changing some of the ways it helps Island families this Christmas.

While it will still be giving out hampers with a turkey and all the food items needed for a traditional Christmas dinner, it will also be giving out supermarket gift cards.

Capt. Jamie Locke of the Salvation Army says last Christmas, the organization purchased food for about 1,000 families. The food then had to be packed and distributed.

"We thought we would do our best to restore some dignity to the whole process in giving people a gift card and allowing them to purchase their own groceries, as well as alleviating some of that grunt work that our volunteers and our staff have been experiencing for several years now," said Locke.

A small family will receive a $25 gift card, while a larger one will get a $50 card.

For the month of December, the Salvation Army's free toy program is moving into a large storefront at 67 Queen Street, thanks to donated space from a local law firm.