The Food for Fines campaign, set to begin Sept. 1, could potentially wipe out mountains of overdue book debt, replenish depleted food pantries and bring lost books, movies and music back to the shelves, said Pat Ryan, director of the Jefferson County Library Cooperative, a system of 39 libraries. 

"Our first choice is getting overdue materials back," Ryan said. "We'd rather have the books than the fines because of the cost of processing new materials."

Like any good saleswoman, Avondale librarian Sandra Crawley, Southern region coordinator for the Birmingham Public Library, has let the news of the upcoming amnesty slip to patrons wringing their hands over mounting fines.

The food drive will last throughout September.

$10 waiver limit: The rules are simple. Each library will waive $1 in fines up to $10 per patron for each dated canned or packaged food item the patron donates. The amnesty applies only to fines for overdue materials, not lost materials, so patrons should look under beds, couch cushions and car seats for missing books or other items to return.

The designated food recipients are the United Way Community Food Bank, Greater Birmingham Ministries and Magic City Harvest. Individual libraries also can decide to give their food to a local church or charity of their choice.

Crawley said September was a good month for the drive because parents want their accounts paid up so their children can check out materials for school work. Library cards are suspended when fines pass $5.

She said the food drive also appeals to the super-conscientious - those library users who are so embarrassed about their small fines that they avoid coming in the library altogether, she said. "We don't want to stop people from using the library."
Renee Blalock, associate director at Birmingham Public Library's Central branch, knows the psychology of the overdue book offender well because she's one herself.

"I always have overdues. I'm terribly irresponsible," she said. "No, I take that back. I'm not irresponsible because I always bring them back and always pay my fines. But I know the mind of a person (with fines), and I think this will appeal to a lot of people because it's a feel-good thing. We're hoping we'll be covered up in cans."

Fines not chicken feed: How many cans of creamed corn would it take to equal the library fines paid to the county's two biggest libraries last year? More than 300,000.

The Birmingham Public Library, which circulated 1.5 million items across 20 branches last year, collected $165,651 in fines for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2007.

Coming in a close second with $150,130 in fines last year was the Hoover Public Library, which had a circulation of 1.4 million items. Hoover Library Board Treasurer Eloise Martens said the towering fines disguise the fact that patrons are actually becoming more responsible about overdue books.

For example, the library in July collected only $10 more in fines than the $14,386 collected in July a year ago, despite a 7 percent increase in book circulation and a systemwide increase in book fines from 10 cents to 15 cents per day, she said.

Higher fines are charged for CDs and DVDs: "With over 1.4 million in circulation, the potential (for loss) is out there, and it gets kind of staggering when you look at the dollar amount," Martens said. "Compared to what it could be, it's a small amount."

Idea from Nashville: Ryan said the county library directors got the food drive idea from the Nashville Public Library, which collected 13 tons of food in 2006. The response was so great that smaller libraries in the system had to arrange pathways through the canned goods to get to offices and restrooms. Ryan hopes the same will happen in Jefferson County.

"The food drive is open to anyone, even if they don't have overdue books," she said.

Food banks are reporting shrinking stores of food and increased need as the economy worsens.

Magic City Harvest, which specializes in re-distributing unused fresh foods from restaurants and produce warehouses to children's homes and shelters, reported donations were down 20 percent over last year. The group said donations of canned goods would go to a number of food pantries.

The United Way's food bank, which supplies a large-scale network of feeding agencies with surplus and government food, saw a 7 percent decline in food donations from 2006 to 2007, forcing it to purchase more food, said Mary Kelley, agency relations coordinator. Kelley said September is a good time to start building supplies for the coming holidays.

"We feel like we're able to meet the need, but even if we were to increase our collections 10 to 20 percent, we could still get that food out to folks who need it," she said. "The libraries are really going to help." E-mail: eellaby@bhamnews.com

What is a Food Drive?
A food drive is a concentrated effort to collect non-perishable canned foods in a one day to three week period.

Why Have Food Drives?
In the state of Alabama, over 750,000 residents are struggling to survive. Poverty and hunger are growing at a time when the most recent statistics from the Comptroller General’s Office indicate that over 137 million tons of food worth over $31 billion is wasted annually—enough to feed 49 million people! Your help is needed to take significant steps toward ending this problem. Even if your food drive provides enough food for only a few families, your drive will be a successful one!

Where Does The Food Go?
The food collected will be distributed to community-based not-for-profit feeding agencies. These agencies include senior service centers, community kitchens, day care centers, food pantries, shelters for women and children, and more. Each agency is a not-for-profit registered charity.

Containers
Place containers in central areas that are highly visible and easily accessible to food donors. Cardboard boxes work best for smaller food drives and provide an opportunity to personalize the food drive. For example, a holiday food drive box could be decorated with wrapping paper, or a display area could be created to make the containers more eye-catching.

Transportation Of Food
Groups are encouraged to deliver their boxes or barrels to the food bank when the drive is complete, or periodically, as the containers fill to capacity. However, if you need to have us pick up your food after your drive ends, please let us know and we will schedule a pick-up date.

Most Needed Foods
• Meats: Canned meat (Spam, ham, meat spread, beef stew, chicken)
• Dairy: Evaporated milk, canned cheese, powdered milk, shelf stable milk, puddings, custards
• Breads & Cereals: Baking mix, muffin mix, dry cereal, oatmeal, grits, rice, pasta noodles, cornmeal, sugar, flour.
• Fruits and Vegetables: Canned fruit (citrus sections, oranges, pineapples, applesauce, apricots), canned juices (tomato, orange, pineapple, grape), canned vegetables, soups, dried fruits (raisins, apricots, prunes)
• Miscellaneous: Macaroni and Cheese, spaghetti sauces, boxed juice, peanut butter, canned nuts, jams and jellies.

You can also save our agencies money by donated non-food items, household goods that still greatly impact a family’s budget, including:
• Paper towels, plates, napkins, cups, plastic utensils
• Bar Soap, Dishwashing Soap
• Toilet Paper
• Laundry Detergent
• Any paper, cleaning, or hygiene items

THANK YOU!!!
 

United Way Community Food Bank, Inc.
107 Walter Davis Drive
Birmingham, AL 35209
Phone: 205-942-8911
Fax: 205-942-8838
Map to the Food Bank