Buy a can of a certain brand of tomato paste at Toledo-area Kroger stores and get 50 cents off - in gasoline.

Amid sticker hypershock at the pump, programs offering discounts and rebates on gas are proving popular with businesses and consumers.

"It is very timely, appropriate, and well-used," Dale Hollandsworth, a Kroger Co. spokesman, said of Kash for Gas, a program through which manufacturers reward customers who buy their products with discounts on gasoline purchased at service stations owned by the supermarket chain.

Cash registers spit out the coupons on the bottom of receipts, the spokesman explained.

Meijer Inc. stores offer a similar program called Fuel Rewards. "We've definitely seen an uptick in interest," said John Zimmerman, a spokesman for the chain in Grand Rapids, Mich. "Typically, interest increases as gas prices rise."

Also, Kroger, Meijer, and Giant Eagle locally are among the stores that offer a discount on gas for holding a store loyalty card or simply by buying enough total merchandise.

Along with those and similar programs at supermarket chains, are rebate programs offered by oil companies and other credit-card issuers.

One of the most popular programs locally is operated by AAA Northwest Ohio.

Nearly 11,500 people, or 12 percent, of the association's 110,000 members locally carry the cards which offer 5 percent rebates at most gas stations when card-holders pay at the pump. The rebates, which slash 10 cents off a gallon of gas at current prices, are calculated into card-holders' monthly statements.

As gas prices rose in April, 30 new members applied for the card, said Laurie Ghesquiere, AAA Northwest Ohio spokesman. That was nearly the same number as applied in the prior three months combined, she noted. Thrifty card-holders avoid all fees by paying the balance every month and avoiding interest charges.

In March, the most recent month for which statistics are available, AAA Northwest Ohio card-holders bought $431,000 in gas and raked in $21,550 in savings, the spokesman said.

Dallas-based Centego Marketing Inc., which coordinates gas discount programs at Meijer, Kroger , and 11 other grocery chains, said the number of manufacturers participating has risen 20 per cent a month recently.

Renee Rubin, a Centego spokesman, said customer interest also seems to have increased, although she was unable to provide exact information. There is a lag time between when customers receive discount coupons and when they redeem them, she explained. The coupons are good for 30 days.

"With the calls we have been receiving, there definitely has been some upward movement," she said.

Centego, which introduced the gas coupon program six years ago, operates it under various names, including Free Gas and Free Gas Reward.

In the first four months of 2004, $8.5 million worth of free gas coupons were issued to nearly 8.4 million grocery shoppers nationally, the firm said. Meijer introduced Centego's gas rewards program six years ago and Kroger began its program two years ago.

First Published May 25, 2004, 11:38 a.m.