What Is Food for Thought?

Food for Thought is a gift certificate program started at St. Valentine Parish in 1991.  It's success has allowed it to expand to now include other local and national stores specializing in all types of merchandise.  Our program includes gift certificates for Giant Eagle, Shop'n Save, Wendy's, Pizza Hut, Kohl's, Red Lobster/Olive Garden, Eat'nPark and many other national and local merchants.  With prudent planning, you can help St. Valentine all year long in nearly every purchase you make.

How does Food for Thought Work?

St. Valentine's bulk buying allows it to purchase gift certificates at a discount.  Giving St. Valentine $20 cash for $20 in Pizza Hut certificates is an even exchange for you, but St. Valentine paid only $18 for the certificates because of the quantity it bought from Pizza Hut's home office.  You have $20 worth of pizza and St. Valentine's has $2.  The $2 profit, under our newly revised program, is split 80% for you and 20% for the school/parish.  Your portion of the profit goes to the student or your choice as a tuition credit.  Since participation has been increasing, tuition and other fundraising has been decreasing.  Imagine having only one fundraising program that provides for the entire parish that doesn't cost anything!  The Food for Thought program is also unique in that when you purchase your gift certificates, you designate which student or family (K-8th) you would like the profit applied to.

It doesn't seem like much, but $2 every time you buy pizza, $1.50 every time you fill your car with gas, $3 from Giant Eagle every week, etc. really makes a difference.  When the whole family plans diligently, a significant tuition credit can be applied.  Last year the top family had the potential under our newly revised program to be credited with over $2500 for their tuition.  You can see how quickly a year's worth of purchases can benefit your child and the parish.  What would result if all 2300 families of the parish participated?  Our school's 5th graders have answered that question:  2300 families earning $5 profit per week for 52 weeks = $598,000.

Penney's and Kohl's allow you to use gift certificates to pay on your charge balance.  If you can't get to St. Valentine's to pick up your certificates before you shop, just use your charge and remember St. Valentine's when the statement arrives.  It's that simple and that easy!

When Can I Purchase Food for Thought Certificates?

You can purchase certificates before Saturday Mass and before Sunday morning Masses, Senior Citizen meetings, Saint Valentine School and Preschool, many school functions and at Saint Valentine Rectory Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. You can also use our Order Form to place an order.

Who benefits from Food for Thought Certificates?

The school student (K-8th) of your choice receives one part of the profit.  This directly reduces the tuition for that student.  Anybody can direct their purchase to any student.  The second portion of the profit is directed to the church and school's overall operating expenses.  The pastor decides which project, activity, group, etc will benefit from the second part of the profit.

"With the higher gas prices I need an extra certificate to fill my tank.  At least St. Valentine's benefits in some way."

AMERICAN EAGLE  

APPLEBEE'S  certificates good at any restaurant nationwide

ARBY'S 

BARNES & NOBLE BOOKS 

BATH & BODY WORKS gift cards good for any merchandise at a Bath & Body store near you.

BED BATH 'N BEYOND 

BEST BUY 

BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO $10 debit card good for any rental or merchandise at Blockbuster.

BORDER'S BOOK STORE can be used to purchase books, magazines, music and cafe at any location across the USA. Also good at Waldenbooks.

BRUEGGER'S BAGELS 

BUILD-A-BEAR

BURGER KING good at any restaurant nationwide

CRACKER BARREL 

DICK'S SPORTING GOODS

EAT 'N PARK give Saint Valentine a smile and use these gift cards at any Eat'n Park restaurant in Pennsylvania.

EXXON GAS 

TGI FRIDAYS certificates can be used for dinners, beverages, and desserts at any Friday's across the USA.

GAMESTOP

THE GAP/OLD NAVY/BANANA REPUBLIC debit cards good at any Gap, Baby Gap, Kids Gap Stores nationwide

GIANT EAGLE good at all stores in the USA. for groceries, Iggle video, prescriptions, dry cleaning, etc.

HOME DEPOT

HONEY BAKED HAM good in any store across the country.

iTUNES

JMJ BOOKSTORE 

JOANN FABRICS certificates good for any merchandise in JoAnn's Fabric stores including sewing machines.

KFC certificates can be used at any KFC restaurant across the country, dine-in or take-out.

KING'S

KOHL'S gift cards good at all Kohl's stores nationwide.

LONG JOHN SILVERS 

LOWES

MACY'S 

MAX & ERMA'S

OFFICE DEPOT 

OLD NAVY $25 debit card good for any merchandise at Old Navy stores in the USA.

OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE

PANERA BREAD 

PAYLESS SHOES $20 debit card good for any merchandise at Payless Shoes

J.C. PENNEY'S good for merchandise and to pay charge accounts at any store nationwide. J.C. Penney's has optical, portrait studio, custom decorating, beauty salon, apparel, furniture, grills, catalog orders, swing sets, etc. Plus, you can use your Penney card at any Eckerd Drug store. Note: Penney's bills can be paid at Eckerd Drug, JC Penney catalog pick-up,  or any JC Penney's.

PEPPERONI'S

PIZZA HUT good for dine-in, take-out, or delivery at all Pizza Hut stores nationwide. Also good with Book It certificates.

RED LOBSTER/OLIVE GARDEN gift cards can be used all across the country at Red Lobster or Olive Garden for dinners, beverages, and desserts.

SHOP 'N SAVE good at all Shop 'n Save stores in Western Pennsylvania for all merchandise in their stores.

STARBUCKS

VALUE CITY DEPARTMENT STORES good for merchandise at any Value City. (Note: Not good at Value City furniture stores).

WALMART/SAM'S CLUB good at both Walmart and Sam's clubs throughout the USA.

WALDENBOOKS

WENDY'S good at any restaurant nationwide.