Just Keep Food Truckin’ Along

Food trucks are an awesome addition to any school. They are a breath of fresh air for the famished and a chance for students to experience some wicked food from different cultures.

A few food trucks have been on rotation at KPU this year, and some people have grown tired of the repetition.

Don’t get me wrong, the concept of having a food truck present on campus is an exciting one.

However, I can understand why my fellow students are craving more variety. As the old saying goes, “Familiarity breeds contempt,” and the limited number of trucks can only satisfy everyone for so long.

As it is, I feel like KPU could do more to supply a larger variety of trucks. Now, I know for a fact that organizing that kind of business is not as easy as it sounds, as there have to be restrictions regarding the amount of money that the university can spend on the trucks.

But as a foodie, I have a special place in my heart for food trucks. There’s a feeling of liberation and fulfillment that comes with ordering food from these grub-dealing vehicles, as if those working the truck were once under the tutelage of a strict head chef who prevented them from reaching their true potential, and now they are following their lifelong dream of entrepreneurialism and culinary experimentation.

Unlike those hoity-toity fancy restaurants where everything feels really expensive, food trucks usually offer people a less pretentious menu, and many can offer us a chance to try something new, to expand our palates, to boldly go where our stomachs have never gone before. It’s like the good old tale of Green Eggs and Ham; You don’t know until you try. I can remember being a kid and not wanting to try mint chocolate chip ice cream for fear that it would taste like toothpaste. One spoonful later, I had no complaints.

Imagine that you’re hungry and stressed out from schoolwork. As you’re leaving class, a wonderful smell wafts through the air. It catches your attention, and the aroma is too strong to resist. The source of the smell greets you as you approach a food truck selling the greatest hotdogs sprinkled with onions and topped with seaweed strips. You sink your teeth into the bundle of greasy joy in your hand, and even though the onion smell is there even after you’ve washed with soap, you still feel satisfaction.

Perhaps other students do not share my perspective on this matter, but to dismiss the importance of these trucks so easily based on the frequency of their appearances is to do them and ourselves a disservice.

Instead, I opt for a better solution: Inviting students to cast a vote for which food trucks they want and how often they want them on campus. By having the food truck schedule and variety decided by students, they won’t have to feel bored of seeing the same ones over and over again.