With 49 million people in America living with hunger, we need to find innovative ways to solve this crisis. Libraries and city government are coming up with some.
It’s called food for fines. Libraries are offering reductions in fines in exchange for canned goods, which are then donated to a food bank.
Jefferson County Library in Missouri has been offering amnesty the final Friday of each month this year. Patrons have gotten their fines erased and helped feed the hungry at the same time. A total of 6,543 canned goods have been collected for local pantries so far this year. They have one more amnesty day to go for 2014.
Other libraries have used this approach as well. In Cincinnati, Ohio they also have food for fines for parking tickets.
People with an outstanding parking ticket just need to bring 10 canned goods to city hall and get the $45 late fee waived. Then they just pay the original cost of the ticket. It’s not for people who have more than two tickets. In its first day the city has collected 300 canned goods for the Freestore Foodbank, the leading hunger relief agency in Cincinnati.
Thousands of meals are being donated because of these amnesty programs. It shows that a little goodwill can go a long way, and fight hunger in America.
Read the full article at Examiner.
Author William Lambers 