Grafton police are giving residents caught violating winter parking restrictions a chance to tear up their tickets in exchange for donating food to a local food pantry.Watch: Grafton Police accepting food donations as payment fo r winter parking tickets Grafton Police accepting food donations as payment for winter parking ticketsThe Village of Grafton has implemented a voluntary program that allows people to donate non-perishable or canned food equal to half their ticket's fine instead of paying the penalty."Why not make something that's frustrating, getting a parking ticket, and turn it into something positive for the community," Sgt. Sean Fuerstenberg said. "It's a win-win for everybody." Many Ozaukee County communities have seasonal winter parking restrictions that, cops say, residents and visitors often don't know about. The rules are designed to keep parking spots clear so snow can be shoveled away from streets and sidewalks."Out of town visitors visiting family... They park on the street or something, and they get caught," neighbor Nick Cray said. "[It's] probably feels better to donate something to pay the village or the city," Cray said. The restrictions are only in place overnight and during snow events. During the last snowfall, Grafton wrote about 80 tickets at $20 each.If everyone who received a ticket participated in the food donation program, $800 of food would be donated to Grafton's Family Sharing. Interested neighbors can bring their donations to the bins in the police department's lobby.Lenay Graham, who has lived in Grafton for 19 years supports the initiative."I would have loved to give back in that way, and also have my parking ticket ripped up," Graham said. The program has been in place for several years and remains voluntary for those who receive tickets. It runs from the beginning of Winter parking restrictions, on December 1, through mid-January.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip ...read more read less