OGLESBY — At Illinois Valley Community College, the best cars taste good and have a short shelf life – at least for the eighth annual Edible Car Contest at noon Feb. 20.

Student teams are constructing cars, actually vehicles that look something like cars or trucks, entirely from food. Imagine a car body made from a cucumber or a hot dog with wheels from pinwheel pasta or cookies.

Dorene Perez, computer aided design program director, explained that the contest highlights National Engineers Week. “We want students to see that engineering is fun, that it allows them to be creative,” she said. The contest also targets women by requiring at least one member of each team to be female. “Engineering groups and the National Science Foundation are working to encourage more young women to enter engineering and other science and math-related fields,” Perez said.