‘Food for Fines’ drive at local library helps feed hungry

Just in time for the holidays, regular readers and Sugar House residents participated in a pre-Thanksgiving library event to benefit the hungry.

During the week of Nov. 13 -- 19, patrons at Sprague Library could bring in cans of food to donate to the Utah Food Bank to help feed low-income families. For every item donated, the library waived a portion of residents’ overdue library fines.

Sprague Manager and Librarian Mary Maloney said the local branch of the Salt Lake City Public Library System has been participating in the “Food for Fines” drive to benefit the food bank for about three years. She said Sugar House area library patrons had been very generous again this holiday season.

“[The Food for Fines drive] was very successful,” Maloney said. “The bins [to collect the food] were overflowing. It was amazing.”

The city library system sponsored the food drive to benefit Utah Food Bank Services at all six of its library locations.

Utah Food Bank Services provides food and information services to people struggling to make ends meet.

According to numbers provided by the food bank, 1,000’s of Utahns are hungry and facing food insecurity this holiday season.

During the Food for Fines drive, the library reduced overdue fines by $1 for each can or box of non-perishable food people brought in. The discount applied only to current charges for past due items, but not fees already gone into collections.

In addition, there was no limit to the amount a person could donate.

The Food for Fines event was promoted in the week before the drive through fliers posted at the local library and information found online at the official library website.

The Sprague branch is located at 2131 Highland Drive, in the heart of the Sugar House commercial district.

During the food drive at the local library, about three collection bins - each nearly four feet tall - were placed on the north side of the main circulation desk.

Maloney said the collection bins had to be emptied multiple times and were often surrounded by boxes of additional food before representatives from the Utah Food Bank could drop by to pick them up.

In the weeks before Christmas, the local library will also host a number of free, holiday-themed activities for families. For more information and a full calendar of library events, visit the library website at www.slcpl.lib.ut.us/branches/view/sprague.