This past Tuesday, several food trucks lined up outside the Milton S. Eisenhower library for the SGA sponsored “Food Truck Frenzy.” The initiative was led by the Junior Class Council and the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions for the United Way.
Numerous Johns Hopkins students flocked to the beach to line up behind one of the three food trucks to enjoy good food and give back to the community.
There were three trucks in attendance outside the MSE library. One was Woody’s Taco Island, which sold a variety of tacos and other Caribbean-inspired dishes. There was also an Indian and Mediterranean food truck called The Sultan. The last truck was The Great Cookie, a mobile vendor for a larger chain of stores. The three different trucks gave the students in attendance an opportunity to try a range of cuisines and prices.
Part of the proceeds of the Food Truck Frenzy went to United Way, a charity devoted to creating opportunities for both individuals and families in securing stability of their health, education and income.
This event was a way to kick start the Johns Hopkins University’s commitment to give 2.2 million dollars to the United Way of Central Maryland.
“The event was incredibly successful, and next time it's going to be even better. More trucks, more food! We would also like to thank the school for helping us get the food trucks to the beach. With North Charles Street closed, this is not as easy as you would think. Luckily, a few faculty members were able to help us,” junior Dylan Gorman wrote in an e-mail to The News-Letter.
The trucks were successfully able to make it through North Charles Street, which is currently blocked off, to make it up onto the beach for the event.
The charitable motivation of the event was not highly publicized. Though the University announcements informed the student body about United Way’s role in the event, it could neither be seen anywhere throughout the event nor on the event’s Facebook page. This lack of awareness took away from SGA’s presence in the event.
“The Junior Class SGA wanted to bring more food options to students on campus. New food always tastes good,” Junior Dylan Gorman wrote.
The event had a fairly large turnout. The lines for each truck, especially The Sultan and Woody’s Taco Island, were so long that students barely had enough time to get to their next class. Still, everyone waited to get his or her food.
The food itself was quite pleasing and a refreshing change of pace from options seen regularly on campus. There was a wide array of options ranging from fish tacos to chicken tikka masala with naan.
“It’s great that they have these trucks coming because it provides a variety of new food options for students to explore without going off campus,” freshman Ally Eagan said.
Eagan, along with fellow freshmen Leela Subramanium, waited for nearly an hour to receive their meals from The Sultan, but were still enthused about the both event and their food.
“The lines are really long but it was expected because it was so many people. It would have been nice if there were more trucks because there could have been smaller lines and greater business,” freshmen Leela Subramanium said.
The lines for the Food Truck frenzy stretched all the way from the sidewalk to the MSE library. There was a lot of space around the beach where more vendors could have been parked.
Vendors got an incredible amount of business in their three hours at the beach.
This event was not only a great opportunity for the students of Johns Hopkins, but it was also a chance for the vendors to promote their cuisines. “I have really looked forward to this great opportunity,” The Great Cookie Vendor Desmian Bartlow said.
