Food for Fines
This holiday season the Sonoma County Library is once again partnering with local food banks to offer a Food For Fines program. Local partners include the Redwood Empire Food Bank, Friends in Sonoma Helping, the Sebastopol Inter-Church Food Pantry, and the Healdsburg Food Pantry.
The Food For Fines program encourages library patrons to return overdue library materials and pay off accrued library fines by donating food to those in need. The donation of one unit of food will erase ALL fines from past due items for one account (note: food donations cannot be applied towards lost/damaged library items or collection agency fees – only fines). In 2016, the Food for Fines program collected 5,974 pounds of food for Sonoma County and forgave $6,853 in fines and fees for 574 patrons!
Food For Fines 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 2017 with the recent disasters affecting some many. Food For Fines Patrons can give to the community and get their library account back in good standing as we close out the 2017 year.
The 2017 Food For Fines program will run for a full 7 weeks beginning on Monday, November 13th and run through Saturday, December 30th . Food donation barrels will be found at all Sonoma County Library Branches. According to our partnering Food Banks, the most needed non-perishable items are:
- Tuna & Canned Meat
- Peanut Butter
- Low-Sodium Canned Soups & Chili
- Rice & Dry Beans
- No-Sugar Added Canned Fruits
- Low-Sodium Canned Vegetables
- Granola Bars
- Cereal
Also, the REFB recommends the following guidelines when donating food:
- No glass, which can break
- Check that items are still within their “use before” date
- All items should be unopened, opened packages will not be accepted
- Home-made or home-canned items are not accepted
Byparticipating in your local library's Food For Fines program, library patrons will be joining thousands of Sonoma County businesses, individuals, and organizations helping to end hunger in our community by donating food.
For more information contact Teen/Adult Services Librarian Jennifer Duran 546-2265 or jduran@sonoma.lib.ca.us. Keep up with all library events at www.sonomalibrary.org and on Facebook, www.facebook.com/sonomalibrary.
About the Redwood Empire Food Bank: The Redwood Empire Food Bank (REFB) is the largest hunger-relief organization serving north coastal California from Sonoma County to the Oregon border. Since 1987, the REFB has provided food and nourishment to those facing hunger, currently serving 82,000 children, families and seniors in Sonoma County, while striving to end hunger in our community. The REFB collaborates with local and regional partners to obtain and distribute 15+ million pounds of food annually, the equivalent of more than 34,000 meals every day. Through more than 200 of our own direct service distributions and partnerships with 177 other hunger-relief organizations, we form a network of over 450 weekly and monthly distribution sites serving low-income residents in Sonoma, Lake, Del Norte, Mendocino and Humboldt counties. Visit www.refb.org or call 707-523-7900 to learn more.
