Food Truck
Frenzy
Mobile venues add variety to traditional back-to-school events
The food truck industry is rising in popularity in the United States. According to the US Chambers of Commerce Foundation, the revenue of the food truck industry has increased by over 300% over the last three years. Forty percent of restaurants in recent years have launched food trucks, according to ChefUnits.com. Lower operating costs, better profit margins, versatility and flexibility are a few of the reasons that food trucks have been preferred over restaurants. The rise in popularity of food trucks has also been seen at football games. The trucks chosen to be at the football games have been supporters of the
Shawnee Heights Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) for a very long time. “The food trucks have a positive impact on these events. They help to provide a variety of different foods for all to enjoy during football games,” Raquel Barajas, PTO President, said. Naturally with so many food trucks being chosen, fans always choose their favorites. “We have three that are fan favorites with a lot of customer attendance; Poppin Minis, Poppin Squeeze and Kona Ice. A few more trucks are added for bigger attendance events such as the Jamboree and Homecoming,” Barajas said.
Jarin Owens, freshman, and Cooper Vandevelde, freshman, receive their order of lemonades from the Poppin Squeeze food truck at a football game. Photo by Jaidyn Hall
Food trucks are expected to arrive early to set up before the game and leaving after the event. “No one likes to keep fans waiting for food so we try to be open for business by 6 p.m. at the latest,” Barajas said. “The trucks are normally there for the entire game. If sales have stopped, the trucks may close to start their clean-up but will stay until the game is over and the crowd has thinned out so that they can safely exit the facility.” With how popular the food trucks are compared to the concession stand, people usually line up in droves but people do find ways to get around all of the chaos that eventually ensues. “The times that I go it’s pretty easy. I think you just need to know when to go. Don’t go during halftime because that’s when everybody else is trying to go. Getting food 30 minutes before the game starts or the end of the first quarter is usually the best way to get food fast,” Ontarius Emmot, senior, said. Another upside to the food trucks being at the football games is how easily accessible they are to the fans. “The food trucks are really close to the stands, especially the student section, so it’s not like fans will have to walk a million miles away to get some cinnamon donuts from
Seniors Justin Goodman and Brody Cooper, along with freshman Kendall Jeanneret, browse the food truck menu while waiting to place orders at the jamboree. Photo by Cesar Esparza
Poppin Minis,” Logan Van Fleet, senior, said. The trucks add a different kind of gameday experience and with them being so popular in the United States, they bring fans a taste of local flavor while making the atmosphere more exciting.
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The Totem
Designed By: Caleb Franke
4 | Food Truck Frenzy
Written and designed by Caleb Franke
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