Fairfax Library's Food For Fines Collecting Food Donations

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Fairfax County Public Library will bring back its Food for Fines food drive for a third year to provide donations to Food for Others.

Food for Fines allows library members to reduce their fines while providing food donations that help people in Fairfax County. The effort kicks off on Dec. 1 and runs through Dec. 31.

Library members are asked to drop off food items in boxes inside the library branches near the entrances. The library will reduce fines by $1 for every food item donated, for a maximum of $15 per account. Members can approach the service desk and ask for fines to be taken off their account based on the number of items donated.

Ted Kavich, an administrative services division director for the public library, told Patch in an email the Food for Fines has made an impact over the last two years. During the first year in 2018, the library system collected nearly 12,000 pounds of donations. That led the library to make Food for Fines an annual event.

"Food for Fines has been a popular and positive program since it started in 2018," said Kavich. "We love giving our customers an opportunity to help others in the community, and it is wonderful to see how this effort makes a difference in people’s lives."

Fairfax County Public Library partners with Food for Others, which distributes food to people in need. That work has continued during the pandemic as it sees an increased need for food assistance. In Fairfax County, the food insecurity rate was 5.4 percent in 2018, according to Feeding America. The projected 2020 rate, factoring in the pandemic, is 8.4 percent.

Kavich said Food for Others saw demand for food quadruple suddenly in March, and over 100,000 Fairfax County families are expected to face food insecurity this year.

"Food for Others is a hard-working, enthusiastic and responsive partner," Kavich wrote to Patch. "They serve all of Fairfax County, not just a portion of it, and their amazing network of staff and volunteers distributes food to more than 2,600 families each week."

Items needed for the Food for Fines drive include:

• Canned chili
• Canned tomato products (crushed, peeled, diced, etc.), 4 oz. to 1 lb
• Canned meat (chicken, beef, turkey, or seafood), 2 oz. to 15 oz
• Rice, 16 oz. packages
• Spaghetti sauce, 14 oz. – 1 lb. (ideally in cans instead of glass)
• Canned fruit (packed in fruit juice instead of syrup) 11 oz. to 20 oz.
• Dried or canned beans (black, kidney, pinto, etc.)
• Pasta
• Fruit juice (100 percent juice) 32 oz. to 64 oz.

The food drive cannot accept items that are more than three years expired, opened items, food that is not labeled, homemade items, or cooked food.

Patch has teamed with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 50 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.