Recipe for a Teen Program

The Teen Librarian Toolbox dishes up another teen program this time with a focus on recipes!  In the recent post, Karen Jensen pitches a recipe preserving program where tweens and teens can save family recipes through personalized recipe cards. She writes, "This isn’t the typical type of program I put together for tweens and teens, it has a lot of nostalgia built into it. But I have often found that our tweens and teens are yearning for connections and traditions in ways that we often overlook, and this is an unique way to meet that need."

She suggests different ways to present the program besides focusing on family (emphasizing nutritional literacy or rolling it into an Adulting 101 series) and provides Canva templates for the recipe cards.

If the teens at your library are anything like mine (and I know they are), they are all about food during programs.  I'd serve this program up with an easy recipe they can make during the event. Have access to a microwave?  Make mug cake! Got a griddle or waffle iron?  Great time to bring it out! Only have an electric kettle?  It makes pretty good ramen!

Let us know if you try out this program!

Stop here to read the full post [MakerSpace: Preserving Family Recipes in the Library, Karen Jensen. Teen Librarian Toolbox blog. April 21, 2025.]  

Cooking Wizardry Tools for Teens

Teens and hot food - a combination that is always a sure-fire grab for our patrons. 

Of course, doing these programs can be challenging if the library doesn't have a kitchen space . It's either delivery food or finding ideas for programs that don't need sources of heat.

Teen Librarian Toolbox to the rescue! Karen Jensen dishes on her go-to mini cooking equipment that has her teens coming back for more.

Karen writes: "I’ve gone back and forth in my 30 years in libraries about food based library programming. And I have had the situation where I have worked at libraries with full kitchens and worked at libraries with no kitchen. Today, I am going to share with you one of my favorite library kitchen program ideas. Before we start, I need to make clear: this is not a paid endorsement. I just happen to be one of those people who do that ADHD thing where you hyper-fixate on something AND am always thinking about how everything can apply to libraries. That is how I came to write this post about the mini kitchen of your library dreams."

Check out her detailed post with lots of inexpensive mini-cooking equipment and program ideas. [The Mini-Kitchen of Your Dreams for Teen Programming at Your Library. Jensen, Karen. Teen Librarian Toolbox, School Library Journal. December 18, 2023.]

Tasty Successes - Part 2

Hanna Collins is the Youth Services Librarian, Slinger Community Library 

As I mentioned in my last post, when you ask any librarian, they will likely all agree that food brings patrons to the library! That was certainly the case with two recent taste test-style programs we hosted at Slinger Community Library, I designed two separate programs, one of which fell during our “All Together Now” Summer Learning Program. You can find the first program on Blindfold Taste Tests here

Taste of Slinger 

My second tasty program went along with our “All Together Now” SLP theme. At our library, we really focused on outreach and collaboration with area businesses. I decided to plan a taste-test program involving our locally owned restaurants. About two months before the program, I began emailing and Facebook messaging businesses with little success. I decided to hit the pavement and get some facetime, which did the trick! I approached about 8 restaurants in our area and asked for the equivalent of about a $20 donation of food that I could pick up the morning of the program. Many were happy to be asked and be involved. Several were not able to donate, but I placed an order anyways to support local businesses and build relationships. I spent about $30 on food from restaurants that could not donate. 

A week before the program, I confirmed orders and pick-up times with each business. I printed a sign for each food with the restaurant’s logo, along with an explanation if needed and a QR code to the menu. Set-up did take a significant time – I would recommend starting an hour or more before program time. 

We had a full house with extra food! The kids were told they didn’t have to try everything. As a former School Media Specialist, I used my classroom management skills to make sure all needed materials (plates, napkins, cutlery, toothpicks, wipes) were ready and accessible, and dismissed participants by table to avoid a mad dash. 

I had these food containers on hand as well so families could take leftovers. All participants were happy and complimentary. Some families had not heard of some of the restaurants, so it was great advertising for them!  

This could be a great program for any library! It’s a great way to build relationships with local businesses. It was a win-win situation

Tasty Successes - Part 1

Hanna Collins is the Youth Services Librarian, Slinger Community Library 

Ask any librarian, and they will likely all agree that food brings patrons to the library! That was certainly the case with two recent taste test-style programs we hosted. At Slinger Community Library, I designed two separate programs, the first of which was a blindfold challenge that really had their taste buds talking! 

Blindfold Taste Test 

In May, I hosted a Blindfold Taste Test for our “Kids Klub” group, ages 6-12. I did put a limit of 10 children due to our space, logistics, and budget constraints. I chose ten different kid and allergy-friendly foods that participants would try blindfolded, then write down their guesses on a program sheet. My ten mystery foods were: lettuce, lemonade, chocolate pudding, Cool Whip, parmesan cheese, Doritos, Skittles, vanilla ice cream, gummy bears, and broccoli. I tried to include a variety of textures, tastes (sour/sweet), and food forms. Overall, I spent about $20 on food supplies. 

I purchased Mini Red Shot Cups from Amazon for $10. This worked out well with my limit of ten kids each taste testing ten foods. About an hour before program time, I began setting up my samples, the last being the ice cream, which I set up about ten minutes prior. I placed a tablecloth over the samples for secrecy before participants were invited in. 

The tables were set up with handkerchiefs, Blindfold Taste Test sheets, and pencils. I had several trash cans on hand. Quite a few parents stayed to assist their children, which worked out well. I began by stating one important rule – do not say the name of the food when you taste it! This was difficult for several to follow, especially the younger kids. We talked about what other senses they could use when taste testing, such as smelling it, touching it, and listening to the sound it made when jiggling the cup. Without further ado, the blindfolds were put on (parents were great helping with this) and the first mystery food was distributed. After tasting, I walked around with the trash can to throw away cups. Some kids decided to hold on to theirs to finish later. The kids briefly pulled up their blindfolds and wrote their guesses on the sheet. Younger kids whispered their answers to their parent to write down.  

There was lots of laughter, “blechs”, and “yummms”. Overall, the program was a great success. One suggestion would be to possibly invest in blindfolds with stretchy headbands like these. Some kids and parents had a hard time tying and retying the handkerchief and some complained they could still see through or under. 

Join me next Wednesday for Part 2 of our Tasty Successes!

Fake Cake Pops, FTW!

Sweet program idea, coming at you!

Cake pops.  

Adorable.  Tasty.  Sugary.  Not always the easiest to make. (and, let's be frank, finding time to make enough for a program can be...difficult, to say the least.  see also: ain't nobody got time for that)

Back in July, a post appeared on the Teen Services Underground group on Facebook, penned by Judith W. from Alabama in which she shared her brilliant idea of a cake pop decorating program using...

DONUT HOLES.

This program is easy and fun, allowing the participants to be creative and--because of this--practically self-run.

I just had to try it!

In the original post, the library opted to hold a variety of creation challenges, including emojis and monsters.  Given that I was holding the program during October, I chose to embrace CREEPY Cake Pops.

                               

Supplies:

• donut holes
• treat sticks (can be found in the baking/craft area of Walmart, Target, your store of choice)
• icing tubes
• candy
• sprinkles
• candy melts
• foam or some sort of stand to allow the pops to harden after decorating
• bowls/napkins/spoons
  

Of course, the supplies list can be altered, depending on your theme, etc.  

The kids and parents who attended had a great time, but there was one hiccup.  We offered an assortment of candy melts but--as anyone who's used them before knows--those little melts can be rather finicky, depending on your microwave/heating apparatus.  After some trial and error, the participants figured out the magic number (both in terms of melts to include and time needed to melt without overcooking) but some of the kids decided instead to use the sparkly icing tubes as adhesive instead.  Both options ended up scary successes, but just something to keep in mind if you decide to do something like this at your library!

We had a blast with this program!  Thanks to Judith W. for so generously sharing her idea on Teen Services Underground!

I'll definitely be utilizing this sweet little program again in the future.

Teens + Tiny Food = TASTY SUCCESS

Earlier this summer, the amazing Ontarian Librarian shared a glorious program for teens that involved . . . wait for it . . . tiny food.  That's right itty bitty pancakes, pizzas, cheesecakes, ice cream sundaes, and more!  We know that food and teens is always a hit, but who would have thought that just making the food tiny would bring them out in droves?!  Find out how YOU can go tiny with your teens HERE.

Guest Post: Sloppy Joes Down in RLPL’s Lunch Bunch Land

Author: Claire Parish, Public Services Director, Rice Lake Public Library

Serving food or even allowing people to eat can be a source of tension in the library world. Having kids and teens that come to the library all day without any food is something that we probably all see though, especially in the summer. Rice Lake Public Library staff took note of this a few years ago, and three summers ago implemented a program we now call Lunch Bunch to help alleviate this issue.

RLPL has allowed food for a long time, and we have snacks at all times that we put out year round in the afternoon, typically around the time school gets out.  So it was pretty easy for us to transition to serving lunches. The first year it was funded by the Friends of the Library, and was pretty small and low key. Word got out in the community though, and we had several organizations who were willing to get involved and provide more robust meals. The Elks Club received a grant available through their club to purchase supplies for hot lunch two times a week June - August and snacks throughout the year. We also partnered with the Boys and Girls Club lunch program, so that the other three days of the week we could serve a prepackaged cold lunch.  Partnering with the Boys and Girls Club led to us also offering breakfast five days a week, an added bonus!

This does take some staff time, especially with the hot lunch.  The food is brought in by members of the Elks Club and served by library staff.  This year, we are lucky to have a volunteer for a neighboring business serve one day, and I’m sure it would be easy to find a volunteer for the other day, but I actually love doing it!  It gives me a chance to chat with all of the kids coming through the line, get to know them better, and make sure that they feel welcome and safe at the library. The cold lunch days are definitely easier, we just set the bags out on our desk and kids can come up and grab them. The clean-up takes about 10 minutes and we (knock on wood!) really haven’t had any major messes left by anyone!

Not only has this program been wonderful in feeding the kiddos who stay with us all day, it has been a great way to form relationships with more of our patrons and create lasting partnerships with some key community organizations.  I’d be happy to answer any questions or provide more details about the program!

Teen Cookie Wars

It's no secret that teens and food go together like peanut butter and jelly.  But what is the best way to harness that teen love of all things edible?  Wars.  Food wars that is!  Earlier this week I hosted a Teen Cookie War at my library and it was smashingly successful.  Here's how it went down:

1. I purchased a random assortment of candies and cookie decorating supplies, including several (like 8) tubs of white frosting.  This included food color, which as we all know is a great stainer, so introduce your teens to it with words of caution.

2.  I bought big, plain sugar cookies.  Now one may think that any sugar cookie will do, but that is NOT the case.  The cookies cannot be overly soft or they will fail to hold up during the vigorous decorating process, and they need to be of sufficient size to be an attractive surface for decorating.  Note: I always purchase more cookies than teens I think will show up, about 3x more, so after they create their masterpiece, while judging is happening, they can decorate a cookie to eat.

3.  I also purchased three $10 Barnes and Noble gift cards for the winners.  You could of course have anything you like as prizes, or nothing but the joy of eating a masterpiece.

4.  I created three "stations" in our programming space: the Judging Table, The Supplies Table, and the Decorating Zone.  Participants picked up supplies at the Supplies Table, and were only allowed to decorate in the Decorating Zone.

5.  As participants entered they received a large (think Chinet sturdy) white paper plate, and were told to take a spot around the Decorating Zone Tables.

6.  Once everyone has arrived and received a paper plate, this is the spiel I shared:

Welcome to Teen Cookie Wars!!  The theme today is FAVORITE CHILDHOOD BOOKS.

We have THREE cookie categories:

1)      Most Creative

2)      Best Representation of Theme (Favorite Childhood Books)

3)      Most Legit

There will be ONE winner for each category, 3 winners total, who will receive $10 gift certificates to Barnes and Noble.

You will get one white plate, this is what you will submit your cookie on for judging.  You can only submit ONE cookie for judging.  You can now come and choose ONE cookie and take it back to your work space.

When you hear the bell ring, your 30 minutes to decorate will begin.  You will get a warning when there are 15 minutes remaining and when there are 5 minutes remaining.  The bell will signal the end of your decorating time, at which point your completed cookie needs to be on the judging table.  Your NAME and the TITLE of your cookie needs to be on the white plate (in marker or in decorating material), when it is submitted for judging.  During judging you will tell the judges about your cookie!

6. I found that 30 minutes is sufficient for decorating and the verbal indication of time heightens the adrenaline and excitement. 

7. I had myself and one of the Youth Library Assistants as judges, but feel free to have a whole panel if you want volunteers involved or other teens.

8. We announced the winners of the 3 gift cards, took tons of pictures, and sent everyone home with at least one cookie!

Overall, this was a very successful teen program, with great attendance and enthusiasm from attendees.  And some glorious cookie masterpieces!