Tuesday I had the pleasure of judging a Grilled Cheese Challenge in the teen department at the main branch of the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library.

One of the perks of this job is I occasionally get asked to judge food competitions, sampling pizza, wings, desserts and other delicacies prepared by some of the area’s best chefs and restaurants or, in the case of rib cook offs, nationally touring pitmasters.

My vast judging credentials weren’t the only reason I was asked to participate this time. My daughter, Anna, works in the teen department at the Warren library.

These chefs weren’t pros. They were kids, at least some of whom weren’t old enough to legally work in a commercial kitchen.

Maybe I should have been more apprehensive, but the things I saw working at fast food restaurants as a teen convinced me the human stomach is a remarkably resilient vessel.

Five teams of teens had a well stocked pantry of cheeses, breads, meats, assorted condiments and even some fruits and veggies to pick from to assemble their creations.

I left impressed at every level. These young chefs took the challenge seriously. They worked together well, even teams that added a member at the last minute. With as many options as they had to pick from, there was ample room for disaster.

There wasn’t a bad sandwich in the bunch, and a few were standouts. The fact that my fellow judge, library Deputy Director Kimberly Garrett, was taking a dainty bite of each sample and putting the rest down is the only reason I didn’t stand there and devour every morsel of some of them.

There were a few cookbooks for the teens to consult for ideas, but some readers may be thinking at this point, “What does a cooking competition have to do with a library’s mission?”

The answer is a lot.

Cooking is science and art. It requires both knowledge and creativity.

It’s a valuable life skill in a world increasingly reliant on DoorDash and Uber Eats.

The participants got experience in working together as a team and even public speaking as they had to present their dishes to the judges.

I grew up loving the library, and my wife and I raised two children who are voracious readers. But especially having a daughter who works at one, I know how many valuable roles libraries fill today beyond letting adults and children borrow books and other materials at no cost.

That’s one of the reasons I find it mind boggling that a group exists that is opposing a library renewal levy in Mahoning County. As a Trumbull County library employee, neither my daughter’s salary nor job security is dependent on this levy, so that’s not the motivation here.

I’m hard pressed to come up with something my state income taxes and property taxes help fund that I’m happier about than public libraries.

Unfortunately, we don’t get to go to the polls to vote specifically on the myriad of ways our tax dollars are misspent, so voters direct their wrath at things like library and school levies.

The anti-renewal folks have multiple complaints, but among them are things like the new culinary center at the main branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County. They believe it’s not part of the library’s mission.

Maybe it wasn’t when I was a child, but at a time when study after study indicates that reading for pleasure is declining, even for those with college educations, libraries are adapting to meet the needs and demands of today’s population.

Reverting back to 1950s’ practices to address 2020s’ problems isn’t going to make anything better, much less great.

Andy Gray is the entertainment editor of Ticket. Write to him at agray@tribtoday.com