Getting a parking ticket can be a pain, but Valley Outreach is helping people feel good about paying off their parking ticket.

Valley Outreach is celebrating Minnesota’s Foodshare Month by introducing “Food for Fines.” The program was created by Tracy Maki, Valley Outreach’s Executive Director, and is being enforced throughout the month of March in Downtown Stillwater.

“March is a food drive month. It’s nice to be able to show a little goodwill. The parking commission felt like it was a great opportunity, after they’d been bruised, to show they had a heart,” Stillwater Community Development Director, Bill Turnblad told the Stillwater Gazette.

Food for Fines allows anyone to pay off the $15 parking ticket by bringing in 10 non-perishable food items in order for their ticket to be dismissed.

“I think it is a really good way to get the word of this food shelf out. If someone got a parking ticket and they had the option to either pay for the ticket or help someone have a meal to eat, I think everybody would choose to donate food,” said junior Cassie Willaert.

Valley Outreach is a food shelf, clothing closet and emergency assistance fund. They are partnered with over 100 churches and donation services, together they have a goal of $175,000 or pounds of food. Since Valley Outreach is almost completely a non-profit organization most of their staff are all community volunteers.

“This is our first try at this. It’s been tried at other places around the country. I’m not aware of any other places in Minnesota that have done it,” Police Chief John Gannaway told the Stillwater Gazette.

This type of event has been successful around the United States, since parking tickets in Stillwater come to about $3,000 average for the month of March that is a lot of food that could potentially be donated.

“Every year Valley Outreach has different events to raise money, food, clothing and other things that the less fortunate could use to make ‘getting by’ a little bit easier,” said Willaert.

Last year, Valley Outreach had the ‘Fill my Plate’ event to help raise money and food for the poor. They ended up raising enough to give away 575,000 plates of food to the hungry.

“We serve our St. Croix Valley neighbors by providing food, clothing, emergency financial assistance, providing education and support services, while respecting individual dignity and offering encouragement and hope, and connections to support services that will help them get from where they are to where they want to be,” said Valley Outreach.

Over the month of March they are announcing the ‘Fill my Plate’ campaign again and between their many public food drop off bins and all of their campaign partners they continue to try and reach their goal of $175,000 or pounds of food together.