The Spice Society comes to Atlanta Public Library

Librarian Kendra Harris and Atlanta Public Library continue to come up with innovative ways to teach and connect with the community. Recently the Journal-Sun sat down with Harris for questions on their new Spice Society program.

JS - Tell me a little bit about the spice program happening.

Kendra Harris - The Spice Society program is a free “Spice of the Month club” program. There are no meetings, though, it’s modeled as a “take and make” kit. In each kit, you will have a sample of the spice, a pamphlet that explains the history and use of the spice, as well as recipes to try, a sample snack of some sort, and a small kitchen item. For instance, the January kit included black, green, white, pink, and Sichuan peppercorns, as well as a pepper grinder, and a lemon pepper microwave popcorn packet.

JS - What gave you the idea to start this?

Kendra Harris - I keep up with what a lot of other libraries are doing all around the country through social media. Spice kits are a program type that has recently been gaining popularity, and I thought our community would enjoy it. Librarians began sharing their experiences and materials online. The Clatskanie Library District, in Oregon, designed the pamphlets that we are handing out. I customized them for our library, and I am designing the kits myself, but the pamphlets are from a program that was already carried out last year. Li- brarians are like teachers, we love to share the projects we make so others can use them too.

JS - How often will you be distributing spice boxes?

Kendra Harris - Every month in 2024 on the first Thursday of the month, at 10 am when we open.

JS - What kind of spices will be in the boxes?

Kendra Harris - A wide variety! We don’t want to give away too much information ahead of time, it’s more fun to have a little bit of a surprise.

JS - Who manufactures - puts the boxes together?

Kendra Harris - Myself and my staff. I order the supplies in bulk and we assemble the kits here at the library with great care.

JS - What has been the reception so far?

Kendra Harris - There has been a lot of excitement! When we launched the first kit we had lines at the front and side doors at opening time, and all 72 kits were gone in an hour and 15 minutes. It was quite a surprise. We figured it would at least take a couple of days to run out.

The only complaints so far have been that some people can’t make it down here that time of day and that we didn’t have enough kits. Sadly, our budget is not unlimited, so we do have to have a finite number of kits. And scheduling is always a problem; there is no “perfect” time or day to have an event. We had to pick a day that did not conflict with our other programs.

JS - When will the next one be?

Kendra Harris - 1st at 10:00 a.m. at the Atlanta Public Library - 101 W Hiram St, Atlanta, TX 75551.

JS - What is the purpose of the program, what are you hoping that people will get from it?

Kendra Harris - The purpose of the Spice Society program is to help people try something new and expand their culinary experiences. Through learning about new flavors, we can also learn more about the cultures they come from. Salt, pepper, and garlic can get you pretty far, but especially if you are on a low-salt diet, it helps to have options! By distributing sample kits for free, our community can try flavors that they may not have thought to try otherwise.

JS - Anything else the community should know about it?

Kendra Harris - The Spice Society kits are an extension of our larger gardening projects, which include our free seed library and our community garden. We want to encourage our community to include more vegetables, herbs, and spices in their food, instead of relying on salt and fat as the main sources of flavor. At its heart, this is a health initiative. As we actively engage with our food, we can see how much it affects our health and well-being.