The sun was shining and warm weather greeted university students and local residents as they arrived at Princeton TruckFest 2017, which hosted 16 food trucks, a larger number than previous years, and earned a net profit of over $25,000. This year’s truck lineup included the Feed Truck, Fork in the Road, Kona Ice, Maddalena’s Cheesecake, Suzie’s Rolling Wrappers, Dump N’ Roll, Mama Dude’s, and Omninon, as well as many other trucks. In addition to the food trucks, there were also lawn games, a face painting station run by student volunteers, and a silent auction where participants could bid on prizes donated by local stores and restaurants. Event-goers were also entertained by DJs playing musicalong the street, as well as performances by many local groups such as Mas Flow, Sympoh, Sensemaya, the Princeton University Wildcats, and the Princeton Nassoons. The over $25,000 of profit from the event will be split equally between Meals on Wheels of Mercer County and Send Hunger Packing Princeton.
TruckFest is the result of a collaboration between all eleven of Princeton’s historic eating clubs, spearheaded by the clubs’ Community Service Chairs, who have been planning and organizing the event since September. This year marks the fourth year TruckFest has been held. In its inaugural year, TruckFest donated $20,000 to Send Hunger Packing Princeton, and in its second year it decided to donate its proceeds to two organizations: Send Hunger Packing Princeton, and Meals on Wheels of Mercer County. Last year 5000 people attended TruckFest, and TruckFest was able to raise $33,000 for Send Hunger Packing Princeton and Meals on Wheels. This year, TruckFest has again decided to support these two institutions.
Meals on Wheels is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing meals to homebound individuals in Mercer County in order to promote their wellbeing and independence and foster a better quality of life. Send Hunger Packing Princeton provides school-age children from low-income families in Princeton Public Schools with the nutrition they need to be able to do their best in school. TruckFest aims to bring the university and the local community together for a day of food and festivities, while also providing these two organizations and the local communities they serve with much-needed support.
There are many sponsors who contribute to TruckFest and make it possible for the event to be more successful every year, including the Princeton Prospect Foundation, Princeton University Campus Life, the PACE Center for Civic Engagement, the Princeton Undergraduate Student Government, the Princeton Graduate Student Government, edWeb.net, Island Spa and Sauna, and Landau’s.
To learn more, go to www.princetontruckfest.org, visit the Princeton TruckFest Facebook page, or visit the TruckFest2017 Instagram page.
For more information, contact Co-Head Alexandra Hanley at arr3@princeton.edu or Co-Head Sabrina Fried at sfried@princeton.edu.