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the Lockport Legend | December 6, 2018 | 9
Homer library’s Food for Fines Month to benefit Lockport food pantry
Jacquelyn Schlabach
Assistant Editor
Library patrons are all too
familiar with the fines that
can accumulate from lost
books or late returns.
For the last 20 years, the
Homer Township Public
Library has hosted an initiative
during the month of
November to not only help
customers reduce their fines,
but support local community
members in the process.
The library’s Food for
Fines Month, which took
place from Nov. 2 through
Nov. 30, encouraged patrons
to bring in items to the library
for the Lockport FISH
Food Pantry that would in
turn reduce fines by $1 for
every individual item donated.
“It’s like a fine forgiveness
program, but it’s more considered
a positive outreach
for the library patrons,” said
Sheree Kozel-La-Ha, the
executive director at the library.
The goal this year was
to collect 500 items for the
Lockport pantry, and they
received 511.
Kozel-La-Ha said that
each year they typically donate
between 500-700 items,
with some years reaching
up to 1,000. In the last year,
foot traffic has gone up 12
percent at the library, which
has helped make the initiative
successful, Kozel-La-
Ha said.
“We’re a really busy place,
so it’s a really good opportunity
with that type of foot
traffic to get a lot of items for
the food pantry,” she said.
Kozel-La-Ha estimates
that the average fines per
patron is less than $5, and
although this initiative targets
those with fines to assist
them in reducing or even
eliminating them, people
who don’t have them have
contributed to the cause by
donating food or personal
care items.
“We’ve done [Food for
Fines] in other months, but
November seems to be the
best month, and I think that’s
because people do think
about, ‘What am I thankful
for?,’ And they do think
about other people, and so
for the food drive, we’ve
always done that in November,”
Kozel-La Ha said.
The Lockport pantry
doesn’t require a set goal for
the initiative, but Kozel-La
Ha said it was a “substantial,
achievable goal for the
library.” Jim Brauch, vice
president of the Board of
Directors at the pantry, said
they are very “donation dependent”
in order to help the
more than 1,000 community
members who receive support
annually.
“We’re very donation dependent,
and usually around
the holidays we get quite a
few donations, and some of
them quite large,” Brauch
said. “Boy Scout Troop
50 brought in about 2,600
pounds of food [recently].
And other times when giving
is a little less and we
get pretty slim, we do have
enough money, we do buy
food from the Northern Illinois
Food Bank, but right
now we’re pretty [full] and
hope to stay that way.”
Food for Fines Month not
only helps patrons and community
members, but Kozel-
La Ha said it also teaches the
younger generation about
generosity.
“It’s fun to see the kids
come in with their cans or
they’ll bring it up and they’ll
say, ‘I have something for
the basket,’ and then they’ll
run back out and put it in the
entryway,” she said. “So we
know that we’re making a
difference and know that it’s
a real positive message that
the young people have that
are coming into the library.”
On Monday, Dec. 3, 27
containers full of items were
delivered to the food pantry.
Given that all 511 items
were donated by those trying
to reduce their fines, it would
represent $511 in fines that
were eliminated from patrons
accounts. Kozel-La Ha
was excited about reaching
their goal and looks forward
to its continued success.
“We try to make it super
positive,” she said. “We want
everyone to have a great experience
when they come in
to the library, and fines can
be very annoying, and we
understand that, so we try
to make these opportunities
where it’s a win-win.”
Homer Township Public Library Executive Director Sheree-Kozel La Ha delivers more than
500 items Monday, Dec. 3, to the Lockport FISH Food Pantry. The items were collected
throughout November at the library as part of Food for Fines Month.Photo submitted
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