A package of fruit cups, two cans, a pack of soap and box of macaroni and cheese gathering dust in Valentina Eslava’s kitchen cabinet since Hurricane Irma got her out of paying a $250 parking citation fee.
The 19-year-old UF health science freshman jumped out of bed Monday morning and rushed to UF Transportation and Parking Services after learning UF President Kent Fuchs’ April Fools prank to forgive campus parking tickets was true. By 8:30 a.m., her parking citation was forgiven.
“I came out of the office jumping,” she said. “I was so happy.”
Eslava’s ticket was one of 90 citations excused on the first day of “Food for Fines,” a program that forgives UF parking tickets and citation fines issued issued in the last year in exchange for a donation of five items to the Field and Fork Pantry between April 1, 2017 to Sunday, said AnaLee Rodriguez, the Transportation and Parking Services marketing specialist. By Wednesday, 625 citation holders donated nonperishable foods and toiletries.
UF Transportation and Parking Services collected over 3,000 perishable goods as of Wednesday this week as part of “Food for Fines,” a program that forgives UF parking tickets and citation fines issued from April 1, 2017 to Sunday in exchange for a donation of five items to the Field and Fork Pantry.
Rodriguez said people without parking citations decided to donate as well, adding to more than 3,000 donated items by Wednesday morning.
As of 1:45 p.m. Friday, about 10,000 items had been donated to forgive 1,891 fines, Rodriguez wrote in an email.
Eslava was running late to class on Valentine’s Day and parked her scooter in the blue diagonal lines next to a handicapped parking space. By the time her three-hour class ended, she was fined for $250.
She originally planned to take on extra shifts at Southwest Recreation Center to pay for the citation by Friday, but Fuchs’ announcement on Monday that his prank was true came just in time.
“I’m a big believer that everyone could be forgiven, so that’s exactly what he did,” Eslava said. “It was a week of amnesty.”
Rodriguez pitched the “Food for Fines” idea to UF’s social media team in January, she said. Once Fuchs heard of the idea, he asked if it would be a part of his April Fools joke this year.
“This is a really good time to donate and fill up that pantry when it’s a little bit empty,” she said.
Two parking service employees and a supervisor pitched in as well after Michael Vincent, a UF musicology PhD candidate, replied to Fuchs’ tweet announcing the program.
“Thank you! My family could use items like these. I hope someone brings size 4 diapers!” the 33-year-old tweeted.
Vincent and his wife, Rebecca Perthes, 36, a UF mental health counseling graduate student, struggle to keep up with the need for diapers for their two-year-old daughter Isobel.
The couple often finds themselves with $20 in their bank account trying to balance paying rent and buying a $10 pack of diapers, he said. Food banks rarely supply diapers, Vincent said.
The employees noticed Vincent’s tweet and bought Isobel boxes of Luvs and Pampers.
Vincent and Isobel picked up their donation at the office Wednesday afternoon. As Isobel climbed on top of the boxes, Vincent thanked Rodriguez to reaching out. Rent is going to be a little easier to pay this month, Vincent said.
“We feel really blessed that we got them because they will really help us this month with our expenses,” he said. “We don’t have that stability every month.”
Although she doesn’t know if the amnesty program will return next year, Rodriguez said she’s happy to show students how much the parking services employees care.
“It’s heartwarming to see the reaction we’re getting from outside people with donations, but also our own staff members,” she said. “They’re getting in the spirit of donating. So that’s all I can ask.”
Contact Amanda Rosa at arosa@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @AmandaNicRosa.
Two-year-old Isobel Vincent picks up a box of diapers at the UF Transportation and Parking Services office Wednesday afternoon. Employees donated two boxes of diapers to her and her parents after her father, Michael Vincent, a 33-year-old UF PhD musicology candidate, tweeted at UF President Kent Fuchs about the “Food for Fines” program.
