SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Do you still have stray Newport Pell Bridge tokens rattling around in your car? If so, the obsolete tokens can still be of use.

The Johnnycake Center of Peace Dale is asking Rhode Islanders to donate their remaining tokens by dropping them in marked receptacles at businesses throughout South County.

The cash value — 83 cents — will go to the center, which runs a soup kitchen and food pantry.

“How many people have a couple of tokens lying in the car ashtray or in a bowl on their kitchen counter?” asked John Patrick Shanley, a former state representative from South Kingstown. “How many folks are like me? We use the bridge regularly and now have an E-Z pass.”

The tokens can be redeemed in Jamestown, but stopping there is not convenient for many drivers, Shanley said.

“This is an easy way to do a good thing,” Shanley said.

The token drive will continue through Dec. 31, and the proceeds will help the center provide food to hungry South County residents during the winter, said Susan Gustaitis, executive director of the Johnnycake Center.

“Especially in these tough economic times, folks in our community have done some really innovative things to help us,” Gustaitis said. “This is just another example.”

The token initiative is sponsored by Pier Fuel Company, the South Kingstown Elks and the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of South County.

For more information about the center, visit: www.jonnycakecenter.org/ or call: (401) 789-1559.

Journal staff