To get in the holiday spirit, cities across the country are letting drivers pay their parking tickets with nonperishable food.
The practice, common in school and community libraries, is making its way to cities across the country as a way of encouraging drivers to do some good AND pay off their parking tickets.
Photo by Guian Bolisay/Flickr.
Drivers in Lexington, Kentucky; Tallahassee, Florida; Albany, New York, and on a few college campuses, can reduce their fines or pay them off completely by donating nonperishable food items, which are then donated to a food bank or shelter in the area.
Food for Fines. City Accepting Canned Food for Parking Fines this Holiday Season. https://t.co/Ue8sEOln3V http://pic.twitter.com/SEXH4FcxqR
— City of Tallahassee (@COTNews) November 30, 2015
In an interview with NPR, Scott Maddox, a city commissioner in Tallahassee, said that they're "hoping that by giving a little bit," people who pay off their tickets in donations to food banks will be motivated to "give throughout the holiday season and hopefully throughout the year."
"Food for Fines" programs have brought in thousands of meals for people in need, and some communities actually take in more money than they would have otherwise.
From September to November of this year, the city of Albany, which has a backlog of 60,000 unpaid parking tickets, waived late fees for everyone paying off parking tickets, whether or not they donated food.
Not only did the city take in 3,000 pounds of food (enough for 5,000 meals), it also made more money than anticipated, as people, who may have avoided paying their tickets because of the late fees, suddenly had a financial incentive to pay up during the amnesty window.
Photo by iStock.
And while these amnesty programs work well for cities, some argue it's not the best way to help people in need.
A recent episode of the TruTV show "Adam Ruins Everything" explored the downside to canned food drives. Namely, that people tend donate old or undesirable food from their own stash, often with high sodium and little nutritional value. And while food pantries and shelters are thankful for the donations, the food doesn't necessarily come "free," as the organizations have to spend time sorting out expired food and hauling and shelving what's left. That's a lot of man-hours for a can of cream of celery soup.
GIF via "Adam Ruins Everything"
A better way to support food pantries is to donate cash or, yes, your time.
With cash donations, food pantries can purchase fresh produce, meat, and nonperishable food in bulk, and they can negotiate better prices than you'll ever be able to get at the grocery store. They also know better than anyone exactly what they truly need to buy.
A man unloads a pallet of carrots for City Harvest, a community food program in New York City. Photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture/Flickr.
But if you don't have extra funds to spare, you can support the food bank with your time. Volunteering to sort food, restock shelves, or work the phones may be just what your local pantry needs, especially outside of the holiday season, when people don't necessarily have giving on the brain.
Photo by AFGE/Flickr.
Whether you're contributing nonperishable food, money, or a few hours of your time, the important thing is that you give.
46 million people — about 1 in 7 Americans — rely on food banks to feed themselves or their families. So whether you're just trying to get out of a parking ticket or library fine, or you just want a way to give back this holiday season, it's important to give what you can.
Photo by iStock.
If you're going to donate nonperishable food, Second Harvest suggests peanut butter, canned tuna, low-sodium vegetables, and meals in a can like stew, chili, or soup.
Thumbnail photo by iStock.
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