In hard hit Fort St. John, parking fines paid with food donations

The drop in oil prices has hit workers in Fort St. John hard, and recently the northern city has been grappling with a severe food bank shortage.

It's inspired Mayor Lori Ackerman to come up with a creative solution.

"Anyone who gets a municipal ticket can come to city hall between August 23 and September 23, and pay off their ticket with a a contribution to the food bank."

It's not an entirely new concept.

Ackerman says the city has a similar scheme during December, when people can exchange their tickets — including parking and traffic fines — for toys for the Christmas hampers. She says it has always resulted in people donating more that the price of their ticket.

"You might have one or two people that think it's funny to bring in one can for a ticket, and others will just bring in a bag of cans or personal hygiene products."

Struggling community

The city has been struggling ever since oil prices took a nosedive.

LNG projects that were supposed to drive the economy are on hold. And the local shelters have filled up with unemployed oil and gas workers.

"What we're seeing right now while we wait on decisions for some resource projects is some people who would have been donors in the past are now clients," Ackerman said.

But Ackerman said the community will stay resilient in the face of such economic hardship.

"This is a community that has always seen the lemonade through the piles of lemons."

With files from Daybreak North

To hear the interview, click on the link labelled Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman on food bank shortage