Fines for Food: New initiative supports campus food bank
By Kristy Koehler, March 23 2021—
The University of Calgary community can now support the campus food bank by paying their parking fines.
Fifty per cent of parking fines paid between March 22 – 29 will be diverted to the campus food bank as part of the “Fines for Food” pilot program. Any students or community members who have received parking fines in U of C lots can pay those fines in person or online during this period to help out the food bank.
Fines don’t have to be current says Students’ Union president Frank Finley — if you’ve been sitting on some tickets for a while, now is a great time to pay them.
“If you have outstanding fines from when George Bush was in office, you can pay them during this time and they will go toward the food bank,” said Finley. “Any fines incurred at any point ever will benefit the food bank if paid during this time.”
The program is a pilot project for now, but Finley is hopeful it will continue into the future.
“We’re looking to see a significant amount of money come toward the food bank to be able to support our community members, particularly during a difficult time like this,” he said.
The Students’ Union Campus Food Bank has been supporting students, their families and the campus community since 1993. Usage of the food bank has been steadily increasing — in the academic year prior to the pandemic the food bank provided 542 hampers, 61 more than were provided the previous year.