TruckFest earns money for charity, attracts over 4,500 attendees

Approximately 4,500 students and community members attendedTruckFest this past weekend.

While the organizing committee has not yet announced final numbers, at least $24,000 from ticket sales has been raised so far, according to Kate Gardner ’16, co-chair of the Community Service Interclub Council.

Every dollar spent on tickets was a dollar donated directly to TruckFest’s cause, according to Stephanie Goldberg ’15, co-chair of CSICC and another key event organizer. Each participating food truck received a flat compensation of $500 but donated all profits made that day. The total cost of this year’s event was approximated at $19,000.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Send Hunger Packing initiative and the Meals on Wheels of Trenton/Ewing.

The Send Hunger Packing Program provides supplemental weekend meals to elementary school students who qualify for free or subsidized lunches. Meals on Wheels of Trenton/Ewing delivers hot meals to the homebound, which includes disabled and elderly recipients.

In its inaugural event last year, TruckFest raised over $22,000 for the Send Hunger Packing program and attracted around 5,000 people.

TruckFest has become the largest annual student-run charitable fundraising event on campus, Lawrence Liu ’16, outgoing community service chair of Tower Club, said.“[Last year], all the funds from the event actually went directly to charity, which is what I think is really special about this event," Liu said. "All the overhead costs are covered through donations and grants … That’s why anything that we sell, ticket-wise, can go directly to our causes, and that’s something we aim to do this year."

Truckfest 2014’s participants had complained of long wait times for food, Goldberg said.

This year, the planning committee asked vendors to pare down their menus to three to four items, hoping to mitigate long lines and speed up the ordering process, Goldberg explained. Menus for each truck were released on the TruckFest homepage the evening before, along with Saturday’s entertainment schedule and map of Prospect Avenue.

The tickets were $2 each and were made available for earlier purchase on Friday and Saturday. On the day of the event, the Classes of 2016, 2017 and 2018 governments set up tables and distributed two free tickets to students in their classes.

TruckFest organizers also increased the number of entertainment acts from last year. Free performances included the Black Arts Company, Jon Savage and the Classic Rockers, Sympoh, the Benchwarmers, BodyHype, DJ Carlos Hendricks and a high school a cappella group throughout the afternoon. Face painters, magicians, jugglers and balloon-makers had booths in front of Robertson Hall.

While returning vendors included Tico’s Juice and Pura Vida, a non-profit vendor called The Feed Truck, which served fried egg sandwiches, also participated in TruckFest for the first time.

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“Anywhere the community is gathering, that’s where we want to be,” Jessica Winderweedle, manager of The Feed Truck, said. “The campus has been very friendly and open to us being here … We know Princeton and we consider it to be our own community. We love the University.”

Later in the day, organizers announced the recipients of the TruckFest People’s Choice Award, a new addition that had participants vote for their favorite food trucks. Undrgrnd Donuts won the "sweet" category, while El Lechon De Negron, featuring authentic Puerto Rican pig roast, was voted the winning favorite in the "savory" category.

Gardner said she was excited for TruckFest's future, adding it was positive for both the University and the eating clubs.