Before rocking out to Vanessa Carlton, students will have the chance to sample some of Durham's best food trucks—and it won't cost them a dime.
In an effort to model Durham Central Park's food truck rodeos, Duke Student Government will be subsidizing a free food truck rodeo sponsored by Duke University Student Dining Advisory Council, pending approval from Parking and Transportation Services and confirmation of participation from different food trucks. The rodeo will take place during the afternoon of April 10, before the Old Duke concert.
“It’s kind of a precursor to Old Duke. DSG can tie the two [events] together,” DUSDAC co-chair Brian Taylor, a junior, said at the council's meeting Monday.
He added that trucks will likely be serving sample-size portions instead of full meals to allow students to sample multiple trucks.
In addition to bringing in current campus favorites, DUSDAC is working to showcase several new food trucks that could become fixtures of next year's lineup. Members discussed ways in which students can give feedback after sampling the new trucks, eventually deciding on an online survey.
“Not only do you get free food, but it’s really a chance for students to have their voices heard,” Taylor said.
DUSDAC will be facing a tight time crunch in organizing the event, and the lineup for the rodeo has yet to be finalized. Food trucks under consideration for next year’s rotation that may be featured in the rodeo include AmigoSan, Bull City Street Food, Belgian Waffology, Taco Grande and Stuft.
In other business:
DUSDAC sampled Stuft, a gourmet potato food truck based out of Raleigh looking to be added to next year's lineup.
The truck features baked potatoes with toppings ranging from barbecue chicken and cheddar to garlic-roasted veggies. Stephanie Ruggiro, the owner of Stuft, said all of the ingredients in the truck are homemade and the inspiration for the food truck itself originated within her family.
“When my parents were first married, they had a baked potato booth in a flea market in the middle of New York, so that’s where the idea came from,” Ruggiro said.
Although DUSDAC enjoyed the truck’s offerings, the food truck failed to elicit widespread enthusiasm.
"I don't think there's anything with this truck that really popped out to me," sophomore Nelson Winrow said.
Dunkin' Donuts, which was voted the newest member of the Merchants-on-Points program in February, has faced delays in being added to the MOP list. Director of Dining Services Robert Coffey said that there have been problems with price negotiations, but seemed optimistic that Dunkin' would eventually be added to the program.
Correction: an earlier version of this article did not note that the food truck is still in the planning stages and awaits approval from Parking and Transportation Services. It also stated that students would be given seven tokens with which to purchase food at the trucks. A decision on the number of tokens has not yet been made. The Chronicle regrets the error.
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