Lancaster High School students regularly get a sweet and delicious boost to end their school week. Recently, the high school administration has scheduled a number of food trucks to visit. Nearly every Friday, Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee Truck comes to campus offering barista-style beverages. In addition to Travelin’ Tom’s, Crumbl Cookies, and Kona Ice are also lining up to offer their wares. These mobile canteens have students buzzing with excitement to consume specialty drinks, get a jolt of caffeine, and purchase snacks they can’t get elsewhere on school grounds.
In the past decade, food trucks have become a familiar sight on school campuses in Ohio and the rest of the country. Tom’s employee Brandon David explained why people enjoy the food truck industry so much.
“It’s just different than going to a restaurant because you know everyone goes to restaurants. It’s you get a different experience here such as better food, you get more of a home like a homemade,” said David.
According to the Travelin’ Tom’s website, they provide a range of traditional coffees such as a cappuccino or an iced latte to new inventive drinks such as their Nitro Cold Brew or Tommy Palmer. A cool perk is that beverages can be customized with flavors like salted caramel or hazelnut, and any tea or lemonade elevated with raspberry or peach flavors. David explained that while there is some planning involved, products from the food truck can be made quickly.
“The preparation, for this truck specifically, we just have espresso machines that we programmed for each drink that comes specifically for the cup. So, we basically press those and if it’s ice, we make the espressos, we put the flavor they want in and we just may have to make sure we have the right supplies and the amount of milk and everything for the event,” explained David.
What’s the most enjoyable aspect of working a food truck? David told Eye of the Gale that he especially liked the travel to various states in the country, seeing different environments, and meeting customers.
“There can be a very wide range of different personalities, I would say. You can get your nice customers and then you can get your complainers. But you just got to learn to know how to deal with them and have patience,” he said.
As for his experience with LHS students, David said that overall, they make the grade.
“I would say they’re very well behaved and nice compared to some other schools we’ve gone to before. So I would say they’re probably one of the most behaved here than others,” David said.
Of the other food trucks that have also pulled into the LHS parking lot to serve the school population, LHS freshman Emery Browning describes her appreciation for one in particular.
“I really enjoy having Crumbl come to our school especially during the winter because it is a mix up from the cold Kona Ice. Cookies always taste better during the winter and especially with Crumbl and the Tom’s truck coming during this time of the year, it is definitely one of my favorite trucks to visit our school,” said Browning.
LHS sophomore Mckenna Griffith expressed her appreciation for the Kona Ice truck.
“I love that it came, even though it’s starting to get cold ou
tside, it still hits the spot! I also appreciate that the truck [Kona Ice] comes to so many of our school events and I always look forward to it,” Griffith explained.
Mobile vending isn’t really a new concept. According to the U. S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the concept of buying food from a vehicle on the street was established in the 1940s. Lunch wagons, or taco trucks, took off after World War II as they followed the growth of suburbs to places where restaurants were rare (“Food Truck Nation”). Sometimes history repeats itself, and with food trucks at LHS, students and staff have more options than ever for tasty treats, drinks, and food. Keep on trucking, please.
