Food For Fines: October 10-26

Even the most responsible library users can find themselves incurring the occasional late fee. Maybe you just needed one more day to finish that recalled book, or you were traveling, or the item was buried under a pile of other stuff. However that fine got there, if your Duke Libraries account shows an unpaid balance in the Fines/Credits/Fees section, we have some good news for you.

From Wednesday, October 10 through Friday, October 26, every library on East and West Campus at Duke University will accept "Food for Fines" to benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC. Each unopened, unexpired, non-perishable food item (or household good) donated will remove $1 from your library fines (up to a $25 maximum per account). You can bring the items to any campus library during the food drive – no need to travel to the specific library that charged the fine.

The chart below details the most-needed food and household items for the Food Bank:

Food Drive Most Needed Items from Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC

A few important points to know for the donation drive:

• Limit $25 in forgiven fines per person.
• Each donated item counts toward $1 in fines, regardless of the item's actual cost.
• We cannot accept items in glass containers, or any expired food.
• Any fines that were already paid or transferred to the bursar cannot be waived.
• Waived fines only apply to late fees. Charges for damaged or lost items cannot be waived.
• All Duke libraries are participating in the drive, and can collect donation information in order to waive fines from other Duke libraries. Bring your donations to the library that is most convenient to you, even if it isn’t the library that charged the fine on your account.

If you don't have any fines on your account, you are still very welcome to donate needed items to the food drive. The Food Bank serves a network of more than 800 agencies across 34 counties in Central and Eastern North Carolina, including soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, and programs for children and adults. If you would prefer to donate cash to this very worthy cause, you can visit Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC to make a direct donation.