Mid-Continent Public Library Trades Food for Fines

Program Returns, MCPL Branches Collect Food Donations for Local Pantries

Mid-Continent Public Library’s biannual Food for Fines program is back! This month, Food for Fines will be held from Monday, May 9, through Sunday, May 15. During the weeklong initiative, MCPL customers will have the chance to donate nonperishable food items in place of money to pay off overdue fines or replacement card charges.

Customers with no fines or fees can also donate to “pay it forward” toward another customer’s fees. Following the completion of the program, the food will be given to charitable organizations across the Kansas City metro.

MCPL offers the Food for Fines program twice a year—leading into the summer to encourage active participation in the annual Summer Library Program, which this year will begin on May 31, and in the fall to alleviate any barriers for students seeking resources at the Library. To date, the Library has collected more than 155,000 items for local charities through the program.

“Food for Fines is a great opportunity for Library customers to support their community by making donations that go directly to food pantries in their own neighborhood,” said Stephen Chalmers, MCPL Excelsior Springs Branch Manager and Food for Fines coordinator. “Plus, you can eliminate fines from your Library account or from a fellow customer’s.”

Suggested donations include boxed meals, canned food, peanut butter, cereal, and pasta. Donations must not be expired, damaged, open, non-nutritious, or in a glass, plastic, or cardboard drink container. Each donated food item will count as $1 toward a customer’s fines and fees (up to $10).

Current Food for Fines recipients include:

MCPL Branch	Organization
Antioch Branch	Feed Northland Kids
Blue Ridge Branch	Community Assistance Council
Blue Springs North Branch	Community Services League
Blue Springs South Branch	Community Services League
Buckner Branch	Community Services League
Camden Point Branch	Dearborn Community Food Network
Claycomo Branch	St. Benedict’s Food Pantry
Colbern Road Library Center	Coldwater of Lee’s Summit
Dearborn Branch	Dearborn Community Food Network
East Lee’s Summit Branch	Lee’s Summit Social Services
Edgerton Branch	Dearborn Community Food Network
Excelsior Springs Branch	Good Samaritan Center of Excelsior Springs
Farview Neighborhood Library & Food Pantry	Community Services League (in-branch food pantry)
Grain Valley Branch	Community Services League
Grandview Branch	Grandview Assistance Program
Kearney Branch	Kearney Food Pantry
Lone Jack Branch	Helping Hands Food Pantry
Midwest Genealogy Center	Community Services League
North Independence Branch	Community Services League
Oak Grove Branch	Community Services League
Parkville Branch	St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry at St. Therese Parish
Platte City Branch	Treasure Chest
Raytown Branch	Hope Network for Raytown
Red Bridge Branch	Community Assistance Council
Riverside Branch	Mimi’s Pantry
Smithville Branch	First Baptist Church of Smithville and Smithville First Christian Church Food Pantry
South Independence Branch	Community Services League
Weston Branch	Weston Community Food Pantry
Withers Branch	Grace Episcopal Food Pantry
Woodneath Library Center	Kansas City Church

For more information about Food for Fines, visit mymcpl.org/FoodForFines.

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Founded in 1965, Mid-Continent Public Library is the largest library system in the Kansas City metropolitan area, operating 33 locations and two Library-To-Go locations and serving more than 840,000 people in Jackson, Clay, and Platte Counties. MCPL is an award-winning library system that strives to enrich citizens and communities through expanding access to innovation, information, ideas, and inspiration. Connect with the Library on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Unless explicitly attributed, the opinions expressed are personal and not that of Mid-Continent Public Library.