Cooking at the Library!
Food brings people together. This is easy to see in the community kitchen at Lippulaiva Library and the event kitchen at Entresse Library.
Various groups, such as the Martta organization, make use of the two kitchens available. In the participatory budgeting vote at Entresse Library, the food theme won, and customers have praised the food events held during the winter of 2025–2026 for being joyful and useful.
The library creates space for the community to act and contribute with their expertise. Students and instructors from the vocational institute Live Telma come to Entresse Library for work practice in the reading‑dog activities.
On one occasion, during a conversation with student Adam, the topic of the library’s food events came up. Adam mentioned that he likes to cook. Merituuli Hemilä, a multitalented staff member at the library, immediately asked whether he would like to lead a lunch‑cooking event together with her and her colleague Saska Ruutiainen. The young man became excited—so did his instructor.
The young person planned Moroccan dishes, and in a meeting was agreed the schedule and other practical details. On February 23rd, was hosted a three‑hour cooking event titled “Let’s Cook a Vegetarian Lunch at Entresse Library”. Adam served as the expert instructor, while Merituuli and Saska acted as assistant cooks.
The event quickly reached its maximum capacity of ten participants. The attendees gave extremely positive feedback!
The young person gained an empowering experience of success, and the participants learned how to prepare delicious vegetarian food. Events like these bring about a great deal of good—with a happily satisfied stomach being far from the smallest of joys.
Read more: Volunteer at a library