Got parking tickets in Anchorage? For the next month, you can pay with cans of food.

Have a $20 parking ticket in Anchorage?

Over the next month you can pay for it with two cases of instant noodles or 10 boxes of macaroni and cheese or four jars of jelly, according to EasyPark, the parking service operated by the Anchorage Community Development Authority.

The donations will go to the Food Bank of Alaska as part of EasyPark's "Forget the Fine" food drive that runs through Sept. 15, said Melinda Gant, EasyPark spokeswoman.

In the past, EasyPark has accepted food donations for garage parking, but this is the first time the agency will take food as payment for parking citations, Gant said.

The food drive started Monday, and by the end of the week, about 30 people had paid off parking citations with roughly $600 worth of food, Gant said.

Katie Schoenwetter, a 29-year-old who works in downtown Anchorage, had $95 in parking tickets to pay off Friday afternoon. In lieu of cash, she brought three cases of Top Ramen and a bag of canned soups to the EasyPark office.

"I thought this was great thing to do," she said. "You get to help the community and pay off your tickets."

Across the country, a few cities and public libraries have held similar events and accepted food donations as payment for fines.

In Anchorage, EasyPark has assigned dollar amounts to several different food items for its monthlong event. It compiled the list of accepted donations based on what the Food Bank of Alaska needs the most, Gant said.

She said drivers interested in paying fines with food should bring donations to the EasyPark office at 440 B St. from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

List of accepted food items and their dollar values

– Macaroni and cheese: $2
– Small canned meat: $3
– Large canned meat: $5
– Dry cereal, oatmeal, cream of wheat, etc.: $5
– Jam and jelly: $5
– Pop-top cans or boxed meals: $6
– Large canned fruit: $6
– Peanut butter: $6
– Coffee: $8
– Case of Top Ramen: $10