Case Study: Food For Free achieves rapid, discreet food assistance and major time savings with PEX prepaid cards

Food For Free - Customer Case Study

Food For Free, a leading food-rescue nonprofit serving Eastern Massachusetts, faced operational and dignity challenges with its Weekend Eats program: staff and volunteers spent hours packing and distributing backpacks that publicly identified students in need, food often wasn’t taken home or used as intended, and families lacked a discreet, efficient way to receive support. In 2021 Food For Free partnered with PEX to replace physical food distribution with PEX Prepaid Expense cards funded for each enrolled student.

PEX implemented monthly PEX Prepaid Expense card disbursements ($25/month per student, $10 extra on holiday breaks) with unique PEX IDs for privacy and Batch Funding to streamline loading. The PEX solution funded over 2,500 cards with over 80% utilization, reduced funding tasks to under one hour per month, provided immediate access to funds, and enabled merchant restrictions to ensure funds are used as intended — demonstrating significant time savings and higher program effectiveness for Food For Free.

Food For Free

M. Lennox

Manager of School Programs