What is the difference between a restaurant gift card and an NH Gift-A-Meal meal card?

Good question. The first and most obvious difference is who receives it. When you buy a restaurant gift card, you usually buy it for someone you know who enjoys that restaurant. They may not be in financial need; it’s just a gift.

When you donate an NH Gift-A-Meal meal card, the recipient will be someone in financial need whom you may or may not know. That is the major difference between them.

The recipient of an NH Gift-A-Meal card will always be someone experiencing temporary hardship. They could be someone you know, but you may not know their predicament.

Second, a restaurant gift card can be sent to anyone, not necessarily someone who lives in your community. Naturally, you would want to choose a recipient who can travel to your community to use the card. If it’s a franchise restaurant, it can be used anywhere.

An NH Gift-A-Meal card will go to someone in your community and can only be used at the restaurant where the donation is made.

Third, a restaurant gift card is loaded with a specific amount of funds. You can use the card repeatedly until no funds remain.

An NH Gift-A-Meal card is loaded with the donation amount and can only be used once. There is no cash back on the donated meal card, so the user should try to use the full amount. We did this to discourage buying a cup of coffee and taking the balance as cash. We feel the donor intended someone to have a full meal, not just a cup of coffee and some cash.

Whether you buy a restaurant gift card or an NH Gift-A-Meal card, the restaurant benefits by receiving the funds to fulfill the card. If you're a restaurant who wants to joing our free network, click here.