Next week, Elizabethtown College’s Campus Security kicks off a unique “Food for Fines” program as a means of helping support the local community.
Beginning Monday, Nov. 23, Campus Security will accept canned food donations as payment for recent campus parking violations – those accrued Nov. 1 through Dec. 11. Ten non-perishable items will erase a $20 ticket; 20 items will pay a $50 ticket. Most campus parking violations carry a $20 fine, said Andrew Powell, director of Campus Security. Though some, he said, are $50, and just a few are $100.
This is the first time Elizabethtown has done anything like this, said Powell. After reading about a small town in the Midwest that adopted a similar program, he wanted to apply it to E-town. Campus Security is teaming up Hope for the Homeless, an Elizabethtown College Student Directed Learning Community, to take the collected items to the Elizabethtown Community Cupboard.
Non-perishables can be dropped off at Campus Security from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Fines will be forgiven on the spot.
The endeavor was quite successful; Campus Security collected 758 food items and 32 toiletry items in lieu of $1,330 in parking tickets!
This is a GREAT idea! We have a food pantry on our campus and I think this would be a wonderful way to raise awareness and take the sting out of parking tickets.