Food for Fines!

One ton of non-perishable foods was donated from Holy Cross to the St. Paul's Parish Outreach Center in Worcester this year.

Boxed pasta, Ramen noodle soup, canned soups, canned fruits and vegetables, cereals, baby food, and even snacks such as "spray cheese", popcorn, twizzler licorice, pudding, root beer, and trail mix are only a few of the types of food donated to the center.

The "Food for Fines" campaign started three years ago, and this year, the donations have doubled since the first year.

The three Holy Cross libraries, Dinand Library, O'Callahan Science Library, and Fenwick Music Library, advertise for the food drive for two weeks. The food is accepted until the end of the semester.

For each non-perishable food item or personal care item donated, one dollar in library fines is waived. The only exceptions are for permanently lost books or fines already forwarded to the Bursar's Office. The food is accepted at all three libraries.

On Wednesday, June 13, Mark Savolis, Jim Hogan, Patty Porcaro, Lynne Riley, and student workers Michael Grandone '03, Eric Schwartz '03, and Kimberly Gray '02, delivered and unloaded the food to the St. Paul's Parish Outreach Center.

As the food was being carried inside, the worker there who was busy filling out forms could only reply, "You don't know how much we appreciate this. It helps so much!"

The food donated is another example of the outstanding generosity of the Holy Cross community. At the front desk of the Dinand Library, students are often heard saying, "Oh I don't owe any library fines. I just wanted to donate the food."

In addition to the students and faculty at Holy Cross, visitors to the library such as tour groups and people attending Alumni Weekend are impressed by the idea of a food drive campaign. One Clark University student commented, "How nice to have a school with a conscience!"