Library and families grateful for food donations

The St. Johns County Public Library System has announced to the St. Johns County news desk of Historic City News that a total of 10,018 food items were collected during the recent Food for Fines program.

The 2nd annual Food for Fines, which went from November 16 to December 18 of last year, allowed patrons to bring one non-perishable food item to the library in exchange for each dollar in overdue fines.

As seen in the recent photograph, the St. Johns County Food Pantry at the County Health and Human Services Department was full of collected food items — before they were distributed to families in need.

The grand total of more than 10,000 was an increase over the previous year’s total of nearly 8,000, an achievement for both the library system and the families in the community who ultimately received the food.

Library Director Debra Rhodes Gibson extends appreciation to library patrons who helped make Food for Fines so successful. “We are thrilled to have partnered with our citizens to provide meals to those in our community who need it most, especially during the holiday season,” she said. “On behalf of the entire library staff, I thank each citizen who contributed a food item, as well as the County Commission for their support of this program.”

$9,745 in late fees were waived, in total, during the Food for Fines event.