The 2017 Food For Fines Program Collects over 13,000 pounds* of food!

The Sonoma County Library’s collected 13,097* pounds of food in the 2017 Food for Fines program, that’s 10,914* meals! This impressive amount surpasses the 2016 totals by 4,800 pounds. Each year, the Library partners with local food banks including the Redwood Empire Food Bank, Friends in Sonoma Helping, Healdsburg Food Pantry, and Sebastopol Inter-Church Food Pantry encouraging residents to donate food to those in need and get their library fines forgiven in return. In 2017, the Food for Fines program ran for 7 weeks in November and December, waiving $23,977 in patron fines and fees!

The Food for Fines program has two primary goals—to remove barriers to library access due to overdue fines, and to help end hunger in our communities. This is even more important in 2018 with the recent disasters affecting so many. In 2017, Food for Fines was able to give 1,664 patrons an opportunity to give back to their community and get their library account back in good standing for the 2018 New Year.

The Sonoma County Library is proud to join thousands of Sonoma County businesses, individuals, and organizations helping to end hunger in our community.

For information about how to donate food or time to your local food bank, visit the links below.

• Redwood Empire Food Bank*
• Friends in Sonoma Helping (F.I.S.H.)
• Healdsburg Food Pantry
• Sebastopol Inter-Church Food Pantry

*Amounts reflect food collected for the Redwood Empire Food Bank, Friends in Sonoma Helping, and Healdsburg Food Pantry only.