Community Confusion: What’s the Deal With the Food Truck?

Photo+by+Audrey+Nelson

Photo by Audrey Nelson

With the start of the new school year, an enigmatic red truck has appeared adjacent to the Epicurean building. No one quite knows why or how the truck surfaced, but its purpose is vital. Installed because of issues surrounding the current hot lunch location, the food truck is on its way to becoming the new food service for Upper Campus. 

Usually, the Epicurean staff prepares the food at Lower Campus before transferring the meals to Middle and Upper Campus. This has been the traditional method for years, but the dependence on Lower Campus has been difficult at times. With the food truck, that would change. 

“The truck has a fully stocked kitchen, so, someday in the future, they may be able to not only serve from it, but cook our food directly there instead of transporting it from another campus,” Principal Gabriel Lemmon said. 

The new change would allow staff to cook fresh meals on campus without relying on Lower Campus. The hope is that the food truck would also allow for even more options to be cooked than before.

But the primary reasoning behind the emergence of the food truck has to do with the current situation of the Upper Campus’ Epicurean building. 

“The building is constructed around the trees in that spot to protect them, but over the years the roots have started to rise, interfering with the floor and causing overall damage,” Lemmon said. 

The plant erosion could eventually cause the building to fall apart, so the food truck is an excellent alternative.

The main drawback is the loss of one-half of the outdoor basketball courts. But after considering other alternatives, this was the preferable option. 

“We do not currently have the space on campus to permanently relocate our food service,” Lemmon said. “Epicurean purchased the big red food truck and placed it on the court nearest the current food serving building.”

Soon, the truck should be up and running, ready to serve food to the Upper Campus population. The timeline on the exchange is still uncertain as of now, but Lemmon hopes that the truck will be extremely successful.