Paying Parking Tickets with… Canned Food?

Food collected by the Strasburg Police Department

Food collected by the Strasburg Police Department

By Brandon Judge, Senior Editor

In Strasburg, VA, residents may surprisingly enjoy paying their parking tickets. Recently, the local police department has instituted a policy in which residents can choose to pay their parking tickets in the form of canned food. In order to support local charities, police ask that parking offenders donate at least 10 cans of food to the Compassion Cupboard of Strasburg, a local food charity that provides food to the needy during the holiday season.

Local residents overwhelmingly support the program, which will last until December 31, 2016. “I think it’s a great way to help out the local charities,” said WHHS senior Ashley Ellias. “It would be so nice if Wayne did something similar.”

The Strasburg police department will lose roughly a quarter of its regular funding if every projected parking ticket is paid with cans of food. However, local residents and officers alike think that the sacrifice is certainly worth it.