The Topeka Municipal Court designated the month of October as Food for Fines month. During the entirety of October, anyone with an outstanding fine at the Municipal Court could bring in 10 non-perishable food items and receive a $25 credit toward their fines.
The Topeka Municipal Court collected 2,048 pound of food and credited defendants $4,274.00 on their cases in exchange for the food donation. Additionally, the City of Topeka Finance Department held a department food drive and donated 128 pounds of food. In total, 2,176 pounds of food was donated to Project Topeka.
“I’m incredibly appreciative of the generosity shown by the citizens of Topeka. Food for Fines has allowed us to help so many people with their court fines and in turn they were able to help others in need,” said Municipal Court Judge Lori Dougherty-Bichsel. “The first year of Food for Fines has been a success and I hope that next year this program can bring in even more food donations.”
Fourteen percent of people in Shawnee County struggle with food insecurity. Food drives go a long way to help out the 25,000 people struggling with hunger in our community. All food items were donated to Project Topeka, which is a non-profit organization that distributes items to seven food banks in Topeka and Shawnee County. Since 1986, Project Topeka has collected over 58,000 food items and distributes nearly 200 tons of food annually.
For more information on the Topeka Municipal Court, visit: www.topeka.org/municipalcourt
