Schnucks Fresh Foods in Lawndale, MO. (Credit: Schnuck Markets, Inc.) Schnuck Markets, Inc. announced it will purchase gift cards from local restaurants and hand them out to store employees in an effort to curb the damage from the COVID-19 pandemic.The supermarket chain said it will spend nearly $200,000, giving employees a $15 gift card to a restaurant located within five miles of their work location."As many families do this time of year, we wanted to support others in our ‘food family’ – in this case the many local restaurants negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic," Chairman and CEO Todd Schnuck said in a statement. "We thought the best way to do this was by offering all of our teammates gift cards to these restaurants near our.