Fanae Aaron, author of What Chefs Feed their Kids: Recipes and Techniques for Cultivating a Love of Good Food, will speak at 7 p.m. tonight at the Mid-Columbia Libraries Kennewick branch on Union Street. She will talk about how food experts deal with challenges of cooking for children's palates.

Liz Edmunds, of the reality makeover show The Food Nanny and author of The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner, will be at the library at 7 p.m. Thursday. A mother of seven children, Edmunds encourages families to stop eating fast food by using budget-friendly recipes and offers fundamental tips for successful family meals.

The two free food-related programs are offered in conjunction with the library system's Food for Fines program, in which library users who have book fines to pay can redeem $10 worth by donating nonperishable food items through Dec. 15.

Last year's Food for Fines drive collected more than 4,000 pounds of food and was recognized in the November 2011 issue of Food Network Magazine.