CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — If you’ve ever thought that your complete inability to parallel park, which resulted in your collection of parking tickets, was a failing, how about if it helped to feed the hungry?

The city of Wheeling, West Virginia, is holding a “Food for Fines” campaign which will allow citizens to settle their parking tickets with donations to local food pantries. Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott says the plan stems from 2017, when the city decided to raise parking fines to stop people from parking wherever they pleased and paying the then-low fines.

That decision was, of course, unpopular with the public at large. The blow was softened a bit when Councilmember Brian Wilson proposed using all the funds collected in the month of December as a donation to local food pantries.

Of course, donations in kind are accepted also, and that’s where the real magic happens. For the price of five non-perishable food items, citizens can get a parking fine waived. So someone unable to remember to feed a parking meter can feed five hungry people, or someone who can never seem to tell when they’ve parked in a loading zone can load up a few bags to settle their parking record.

Elliott said beyond the amount of food that’s collected, it’s the spirit of the season that the program spreads. While he didn’t have exact numbers on collections, he said “thousands and thousands” of cans and boxes of food were contributed every year, and he said everyone enjoys turning a negative into a positive.