Pay It Food Truck Forward

Twice in the past 8 months, I have planned trips to New Jersey specifically to visit some of the area's food trucks during scheduled food truck events. This past weekend, I traveled to Secaucus to spend some good time at the Winter Blast - Food Truck Mash Up.

Over the two days I was in Secaucus, I visited, chatted and ate delicious food with 17 of the 25 food trucks participating in the Winter Blast event. My only wish was that it was warmer. The weather was in the low 20's and was biting. And, my only regret was that I did not get to meet the other 8 vendors!

So, maybe you're curious about how was I able to eat at 17 food trucks over two days!

I do have a very good appetite, and I am very good at pacing myself.  But, even with a good appetite and proper pacing, there is no chance I could have eaten all of the food put in front of me. And since I am also adamantly against wasting or throwing food away, I have devised a system. Whenever I visit many food trucks during one specific period of time and want to eat and taste foods from multiple trucks, I pay it forward. Here's the deal: almost every item one orders from a food truck can be shared. And that is what I do!  I order a pizza, enjoy a slice and then share the remaining slices with strangers walking by, or order sliders from a burger truck, and then slide over to the next food truck and share them. 

If you have the chance, try it out! It is fun and satisfying.

In appreciation of the generosity and spirit of the wonderful food trucks of New Jersey, who so graciously chatted with me and gave me the opportunity to try their food, FoodTrucksIn.com has made a donation in the name of the food trucks that participated (mostly from NJ but some NYC and Philly trucks as well) to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey on their behalf. 

Thank you!  Aroy-D, the Thai Elephant - Thai dumplings shared with Shorty's on Wheels - Philly cheese steak shared with Wrap Star - Dirty Jersey breakfast burrito shared with Mod Cup Coffee - hand crafted cappuccino.  The Green Radish - black bean burger shared with Waffle De Lys - sage mushroom waffle shared with a passerby.  The Outslider - French onion slider with The Cow and the Curd - battered fried cheese curds shared with Oink and Moo BBQ - Brisket and coleslaw sliders shared with a passerby. Pizza Vita - Sopressata pizza shared with 3 lucky wanderers. Mausam curryNbites – Samosa. The Original Soupman - fresh soup to keep me warm. Hunger Construction - hollowed stuffed baked potato. The Taco Truck - carnitas taco shared with the Empanada Guy - beef empanada. Rosie's Weenie Wagon for a concoction dog.

And one last special thank you to Arlene at Polkadot Cupcake Shop!  When I arrived in New Jersey, FoodTrucksIn.com had 2,990 Twitter followers. While at the event we reached 3,000 followers. To celebrate this we offered to treat any new Twitter follower at the event to anything they wanted, from any of the food trucks. Giana G followed us on Twitter then sought me out. Arlene supplied Giana and her friends with some great cupcakes and cupcake pops, and sent me home with some as well.

We are in the process of planning upcoming trips to Austin, TX, Tampa, FL and Jacksonville, FL. Join us in paying it food truck forward.