The Ponoka Jubilee Library has decided to permanently implement their Food for Fines program where community members can trade non-perishable goods to pay their fines.
The goods don’t necessarily have to be non-perishable food either, they can be dried goods and other pantry-friendly items such as toilet paper. Library manager Dan Galway is especially excited to be bringing this program back.
“This is a great way to help the community and those that really need the help. Obviously Covid has hit the community in multiple ways and this one way to pay it forward,”
How it’ll work is that for every item someone brings, a dollar will be taken off the fine. There is no limit for how many goods someone can bring, in fact it’s encouraged to give as much as possible.
This isn’t a new program either, it’s been implemented off and on going back multiple years that has seen great success.
“We’ve done it before and we saw the engagement it got from the community so we decided that it would be best if we brought it back permanently,” Galway said.