Older youth often rely on their stipends to cover food and basic necessities. Giving cash or prepaid cards, instead of store-specific gift cards, is more useful and will go farther for youth purchasing groceries and other necessities.
In a multi-state learning sprint with older foster youth, Think of Us found that when youth received Target gift cards, they often engaged in a complicated workaround: they purchased miscellaneous Target items, then returned them in batches to receive cash refunds in increments of $10. They then used that cash to buy food at other stores.