Parking Services is partnering with Jack’s Cupboard to help students with food insecurity and excessive parking tickets.       

From Nov. 14 to Dec. 14, students will have the option to donate food to Jack’s Cupboard instead of paying on-campus parking tickets. The initiative “Donations for Citations” allows all students to donate 2 items from each category for a $25/$30 citation and 4 items for $50 citation.

 The categories: 

Canned tuna, chicken or spam 

Paper products (ex. toilet paper, tissues, paper towels)

Granola bars and microwave popcorn

Cooking, canola and vegetable oil

White/brown rice, or a 12 pack of ramen, mac & cheese and pasta

Graduate student Shannon Pappas, who oversees Jack’s Cupboard said she’s seen significantly more students using the service this year and said it’s been hard to keep the shelves stocked. Pappas attributes the boom in students to a growing social media following. 

“As long as you have a valid SDSU ID card, you can get food from Jack’s Cupboard,” Pappas said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a graduate student or undergraduate student.”

Students looking to volunteer at Jack’s Cupboard are always welcome, Pappas said.

The organization uses Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to let students know about the pantry. Pappas said the team is trying to put together a student board since most of the people in charge are second year graduate students. 

Pappas credits the success of Jack’s Cupboard to the campus community. 

“We have a lot of campus community members that are willing to give back and that’s what helps to keep us going,” she said. 

Within the campus community, Parking Services is lending a hand. The Parking Services team said they are glad to help out Jack’s Cupboard since it gives back to the students on campus. 

Jessica Peterson, SDSU’s business manager, said that because this has been offered in the past, students have been asking to bring it back. The Parking Traffic Committee officiated the campaign and are looking to do another campaign in the spring. 

Students can bring their donations to Card Services, located in the Union, November 14 through December 14 and have their ticket written off right there.

The student response to “Donations for Citations” has been positive. Bree Eastman, a sophomore environmental science major, said Jack’s Cupboard is a great resource for students, and this campaign is a great way to acknowledge that. She also said that lots of college students struggle to pay tickets, so this is a way for students to not stress before finals and give back within the campus community. 

“This is a great way to turn something negative into a positive,” Eastman said. “Lots of students get really upset when getting a ticket and this is a great way to make it a positive experience for everyone.” 

DONATION INFO

Where: Card Services Office in the University Student Union

When: Nov. 14 – Dec. 14

What to bring: 

$25/$30 citation – 2 items from each category 

$50 citation – 4 items from each category

Jack’s Cupboard: