TORONTO

Compensation for ice storm power loss flowing past Toronto borders

The Canadian Press Published Tuesday, January 7, 2014 2:25PM EST

A man holds $100 grocery gift card on Dec. 30, 2013. More than a week after a crippling ice storm hit parts of Eastern and Central Canada, hundreds of Toronto residents whose food spoiled during the power outage are lining up to pick up their free grocery gift cards. But the demand for the grocery cards appears to be much higher than anticipated. (CTV Toronto)

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TORONTO - Compensation for people who lost food during last month's ice storm began flowing outside of Toronto on Tuesday.

More than $840,000 in grocery store cash cards were given to about 85-hundred families and individuals in Toronto to help them replace food lost due to the storm.

Another $450,000 worth of cards will be made available starting Tuesday in communities outside the city, but residents will have to check to see exactly how they can get the money.

Some municipalities will use a new call-in system to distribute the cash cards, but others will use the same in-person pickups that caused long lineups in Toronto last week.

The cash cards are meant to replace food that spoiled when power went out after the pre-Christmas storm, and are supposed to go only to those who can't afford to replace their losses.

They will be distributed starting today in Hamilton and Wellington, Halton, Peel, Waterloo and York regions, and Dufferin county.

The cards will be given out in Northumberland county starting tomorrow and in Durham region on Thursday.