Three food trucks will be serving a not-so-traditional Shabbat dinner at UF Hillel tonight — just one example of established student events incorporating the trendy mobile vendors.
“I think the youth really like it,” said Peter Sturgeon, owner and operator of the Soup to Nuts food truck, which will be parked at UF Hillel at 8:30 p.m. “It’s nice to go wherever other people are instead of having brick-and-mortars, where you’re stuck in one spot.”
A major draw to the student community is the ability for food truck vendors to be creative with their food, he said. Sturgeon’s truck will serve different types of grilled cheese at the monthly dinner hosted tonight, varying from traditional to dessert to gluten-free.
“There’s a variety of food, so there’s something for everyone,” said Samantha Robinson, a 19-year-old UF food science and human nutrition sophomore. “The traditional Shabbat dinner doesn’t really work well for vegetarians like me.”
Within the past three months, Hillel has seen a massive transition in staff and philosophy, said Rabbi Adam Grossman. To him, religion is not just faith — it is comprised of physical, emotional, spiritual and social components.
“People know food trucks,” he said. “It’s very, very new in Gainesville and I think provides students a unique opportunity to get something pretty chic that they otherwise couldn’t get.”
Since Hillel started this event, Grossman said they have served more than 400 students.
“We are a student-driven organization, and that’s our niche,” he said. “Everything we try to do is really for the student.”
In addition to UF Hillel, Gator Growl — billed as the largest student-run pep rally in the nation — incorporated food trucks this year to help obtain a more festival-like atmosphere for its 91st annual show.
“It’s cooler than just catered food,” said UF economics freshman Joeli McKee, who attended Growl. “You get a lot of more options, too, and it’s probably cheaper to do it.”
In comparison to last year, Growl attendance increased by almost 2,000 people.
Yet despite its success, the trucks were not met without problems.
Many attendees reported food lines that stretched across the field, and some showgoers felt they missed performances to wait for food.
“I’d say the lines (were) really long,” McKee said, “and they’re a little bit more far off from the rest of everything.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 10/31/2014]
Peter Sturgeon, 26, stands outside his food truck, Soup to Nuts, as he prepares for an event at First Magnitude Brewery.
