FMU’s first Food Truck Thursday kicked off this year on the Smith University Center (UC) lawn on Sept. 7. The roundup was held at the same time as the Student Activities Fair, allowing students to explore the various activities on campus and grab a bite of food at the same time.
One Thursday of each month, a handful of local food trucks set up shop on the UC lawn during the afternoon, serving up a variety of different eats for students to pick from. This month’s vendors were Little Latin Kitchen, Mike’s Italian Ice and Tropical Paradise.
Each Food Truck Thursday offers familiar trucks, as well as some new vendors to add to the lineup.
“Trucks will vary from month to month with some fan-favorites and newcomers mixed in for an ever-changing experience,” Evelyn Prosser, Student Life specialist, said.
Some of the trucks, such as Mike’s Italian Ice, are not only new to FMU but to community events such as Food Truck Thursday in general.
“This is the first year we are doing other events outside festivals (Food Truck Thursdays, Eats on the Creek, private businesses),” Mike Lawlor, owner of Mike’s Italian Ice, said. “So we are learning what works for us and what does not.”
Food Truck Thursdays encourage students to connect with local businesses in the community and allows for vendors to promote their products simultaneously. Lawlor serves Italian ice seasonally from April to October, which allows him to connect with those in the community, such as FMU students during those months.
“Now I get to socialize and talk to people rather than being in an office isolated under high stress all of the time,” Lawlor said.
Food Truck Thursdays have proven to be a great way for students to not only connect with small businesses in the area, but a great way to connect with other students on campus and the event has continued to be a success year after year.
“We would love to see Food Truck Thursday be even more successful than last year,” Prosser said. “Maybe even enough to see it happen more than once a month.”
Little Latin Kitchen offered Puerto Rican cuisine for students to try. Menu items included quesadillas, empanadas among other items. More information about Little Latin Kitchen can be found on their Facebook: @LittleLatinKitchen and Instagram: @littlelatinkitchenllc.
Mike’s Italian Ice provided students with a cool way to beat the September heat with sweet Italian ice. With a variety of flavors including blue raspberry, mango and watermelon, there were a number of different options to cater to each student’s cravings. More information about Mike’s Italian Ice can be found on their Facebook: @italianiceguy.
Tropical Paradise was also among the food trucks, offering students fresh wings in a variety of flavors, as well as french fries and cool lemonade.
If you missed this month’s Food Truck Thursday, more food trucks both new and old will be back on the UC lawn on Oct. 26 and Nov. 16.