An organization at UBC Okanagan is turning that feeling of frustration returning to a parking ticket on your car after a long day on campus, into food.

For the past few years, every November and February, people with a parking citation have the option to pay the just first half of their parking fine in addition to giving a food donation to Food for Fines.

Food items are given to UBCO鈥檚 Pantry, a food bank located on campus and operated by the Students鈥� Union Okanagan.

鈥淔ebruary contributions totalled more than 1,925 items. That translates to about $5,680 in parking citation forgiveness,鈥� said Jeff Joyce, manager of parking services at UBC Okanagan.

The Pantry, which opened in 2019, helps provide emergency food relief for students. More than 100 students access the space each day and approximately 50 students use the food hamper program each week.

According to the Students鈥� Union, more than 43 per cent of post-secondary students across Canada are food insecure.

鈥淒onations received this February greatly exceeded our expectations, providing a significant boost to the SUO Pantry. We thank our entire campus community for its support and look forward to growing this initiative even further,鈥� said Joyce.

To learn more about the student foodbank visit

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