Lexington's Food for Fines program collects 6,200 cans of food to pay for 600 parking citations

The Lexington Parking Authority is declaring its Food for Fines campaign a success.

LexPark said the campaign collected more than 6,200 cans of food at its North Broadway location as payment for more than 600 meter citations.

The food for fines program ran from Nov. 17 through Dec. 19. It allowed customers to bring in 10 cans of food to pay for any meter citation. Customers who had multiple meter citations were able to bring in 10 cans for each one, including those that were past due.

Gary Means, LexPark's executive director, said the success of the program, which focused on feeding the needy, was in large part due to the attention it received from local and national media outlets.

The Washington Post, USA Today and MSNBC all reported on the program, the parking authority said.

"While the national attention was exciting, we were very grateful that the local media got behind the story and really helped us get the word out," Means said. "Over 370 citizens participated by hauling in their cans, many of which donated more that was required."

All canned food donations received by LexPark were given to God's Pantry Food Bank.

This story was originally published December 24, 2014 at 2:05 PM with the headline "Lexington's Food for Fines program collects 6,200 cans of food to pay for 600 parking citations."