Leah McAlister wanted to show Southeast students Kent Library can be a fun place, in a tasteful way.

McAlister, Kent Library’s access services coordinator, combined her passions for books and cooking with the annual Edible Book Festival, which also raised money for the Redhawk Food Pantry on April 11.

“It’s to bring people in to show that the library is not just about books,” McAllister said. “The people here are creative, the people here are friendly. We want to share things with people.”

The event allowed library staff to express their creativity by making edible works of art in the shape of a book.

The edible book entries included “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle, “Spongebob Squarepants Bikini Bottom’s Most Wanted” by Steven Hillenburg and “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe.

Students voted for their favorites by donating change.

Library technical assistant Brittany Colbert and nighttime weekend supervisor at Kent Library Cole Howell collaborated on the winning entry, “Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen.

“I really wanted to be a part of the event to raise money and raise awareness for National Library Week,” Colbert said.

Colbert and Howell created a hatchet shape out of cake. Icing was used to define the features of a hatchet.

The festival brings attention to the library and the Redhawk Food Pantry.

“Any amount really helps because we solely rely on donations,” student manager for the Redhawk Food Pantry Daniel Mahoney said. “Any little bit helps greatly.”

The Redhawk Food Pantry provides such items as can goods, box goods and hygienic products to those on campus.

“It’s a great way to raise money for the food pantry to help keep our shelves stocked,” Mahoney said.