Butler Area Public Library staff members Maureen Bratkovich, left, and Tristyn Parker move bags of donated food to storage Tuesday. The library is doing a collection drive in conjuction with Slippery Rock University's Butler SUCCEED Stick a Fork In Hunger! program. The library is offering to waive overdue charges in exchange for food donations until Oct. 22. Among yesterday's donations, one resident dropped off 104 items to contribute. Story on Page 7.Seb Foltz/Butler Eagle

While fines for overdue materials at the Butler Area Community Library average only a few cents per day, they can build up over time.

But until Oct. 22, people can pay off their overdue fines by bringing nonperishable food items to the library and donating them to the Stick a Fork in Hunger campaign in exchange for a $1 library credit for each item.

“This is an opportunity for people who had past fines to catch up,” said Lori Hinderliter, executive director of the library. “We decided to do 'Food For Fines' to try to collect the most food we could.”

The Slippery Rock University Center for Community Engagement, Empowerment and Development (SUCCEED) organized the Stick a Fork in Hunger campaign, which aims to reduce food insecurity in Butler County through collaboration with local businesses, organizations and individuals.On Oct. 23, food and monetary donations collected by the project's participants will be brought to Butler SUCCEED on Main Street.The campaign is somewhat of a friendly competition for participating organizations, which Hinderliter said motivated the library to come up with the Food for Fines idea.“We have had different drives, collected all kinds of things like socks, hats and mittens,” Hinderliter said. “This is probably our biggest food drive we have participated in.”The fine for an overdue book is $0.25 per day at the Butler library and DVDs are $1 per overdue day. The library has only been collecting food for a few days, but Hinderliter said she hopes to see the contributions grow throughout the campaign.“It has been going,” Hinderliter said. “People have been bringing food, whether it's for fines or just as a contribution.”

Butler Area Public Library staff member Tristyn Parker moves bags of donated food to a cart Tuesday, part of the library's collection drive in conjuction with Slippery Rock University's Butler Succeed Stick a Fork In Hunger! program. The library is offering to waive overdue charges in exchange for food donations from Oct. 8-22. Seb Foltz/Butler Eagle 10/12/21