York University is the latest in a series of Canadian universities to have embraced the idea of food trucks on campus.
The university began “Food Truck Tuesdays” this semester in late September, where each week, two local trucks would be invited to spend the day on campus.
Local food trucks such as Gourmet Gringos, Smoke’s Poutinerie, Urban Smoke, Choco Churros, BeaverTails, and Localista have all made appearances on the campus over the past few months.
Before that, food trucks had been serving food at the university’s football games only, according to Anthony Barbisan, director of the university’s card, food, and parking services.
He said this prompted many students to request a similar service on campus during the week.
The initiative was a service offered through the fall semester and has now finished, but the response from students was very encouraging, Barbisan said.
He said the trucks would return next school year.
“We’ve received a lot of positive feedback, including requests for specific trucks to be invited,” he said via email.
Food trucks were also invited to be present on campus during York’s “Red and White Day” on Nov. 27, a university celebration of “pride and achievements” for York students, that takes place twice a year.
The University of British Columbia (UBC) was the first university to open its own food truck, called The Hungry Nomad, in July 2013. It is run by UBC’s food services organization and is open daily for the university.
The response to the truck has so far been excellent, according to Hungry Nomad manager John Butt.
“We are the first wholly-owned university food truck in Canada,” Butt said. “Any profits from the truck get funnelled back into university services.”
Butt said it was the strength of Vancouver’s food truck culture that inspired the university to create The Hungry Nomad. He said UBC’s campus is some distance from the city, and too far from where Vancouver’s food trucks are parked, while campus union restrictions prevented private food trucks from entering the university.
“Since food trucks from the city cannot enter the campus due to union restrictions, we provide the food truck culture for the campus,” he said.
The Hungry Nomad currently specializes in hot, gourmet sandwiches with fillings like pulled pork, fried cod, and braised beef brisket but also serves things like poutine and chilli, Butt said. There are plans to introduce rice bowls as the weather gets cooler too. Items cost between $5.00 and $8.00.
Over at the University of Ottawa (U of O), a food truck operates on campus, called Stone Soup Foodworks.
Jacqueline Jolliffe, who operates the food truck, said U of O approached her in 2011 to set up on campus.
“They were looking to have food in areas that were underserved by food services and they were also looking for more local and sustainable food options,” she said.
Now two years later, students can use their campus cards to purchase food from the truck, and Jolliffe said she has hired students to work alongside her to help with the demand.
The truck is privately owned but is parked on university grounds with university permission, she said. It is open Monday to Friday, and closes during university holidays.
Jolliffe said Stone Soup serves soups, salads, tacos, and sandwiches that cater for meat eaters, vegans, and vegetarians on campus.
She said food trucks are such a hit with students on campus for a variety of reasons.
“They’re fast, good for the quality you get, they are trendy,” she said. “But also they serve fresh, fast food. There is not a lot of places to get that on campus.”
Paul Bergeron, who operates another food truck at U of O called Relish Food Truck, said he was approached by the university’s Food Services after the truck was noticed at WestFest last year.
“Basically, they were just looking for different ways to offer good food,” Bergeron said.
He said the invitation was part of a university initiative to improve food services on campus. Food options at the university were very limited before Food Services stepped in, according to Bergeron.
“They were always really low on food services” he said. “They had the main student cafeteria, and then they had a hut serving hamburgers, hotdogs, and poutine, and they had a student restaurant.”
Bergeron said he has a specific contract with the university to stay on campus but the menu-side of the business is left up to him.
He said the Relish serves homestyle food, priced at about $8.00 per lunch. Students can pay with university flex dollars or use their meal plan to pay.
Carleton University is also looking into adding food truck services for next semester, according to Dining Services.
