The Student University Activities Board (SUAB) hosted their inaugural International Food Truck Festival on Sunday, Oct.15th, 2017.
The festival took place in the Student Health Center parking lot and kicked off SUAB’s Big on Big week.
Students were given a passport and hand stamp to indulge in food from around the world. SUAB provided five options of food trucks that included cuisine from Mexico, Haiti, Greece, Japan, and Italy.
Massive lines formed at each truck, especially Hibachi Express, which served chicken and vegetables over fried rice with students’ choice of teriyaki or yum-yum sauce.
The other restaurants included: Sandy’s Grill that served chicken and steak tacos to give students a taste of Hispanic culture, Ghassan’s Fresh Mediterranean Eats, which provided two choices of gyro pitas and chicken pitas, Zeko’s Pizzeria to depict Italian culture, and King Queen Number 1 Haitian Cuisine that served chicken, red beans and rice and plantains.
For the past few years, international food night has become a recurring event hosted by SUAB.
The event is hosted to bring cultural awareness to Aggies.
However, instead of their normal method, Dionne Anderson, Cultural Affairs Chair, decided to alter the tradition.
“Our Cultural Affairs Board plans this event every year as a signature program. However, this year our Chair decided to implement a twist and add a food truck aspect. It’s been a pretty good turn out, as we have over 300 people participating.
The students seem to be enjoying the different types of food,” said Tyana Sykes, SUAB President said.
Throughout the festival, SUAB’s vision was fulfilled as students learned the variety of cultures through not only food and music, but free henna tattoos as well.
“It’s a really good opportunity for students to understand other people’s cultures just by getting a feel of what other nationalities eat and the activities they participate in,” said Aaron Slater, sophomore business education student.
As the night continued, the scenery of the Student Health Center parking lot represented unity for the many flags of each nationality. By the end of program, Aggies were able to express what food trucks and culture they enjoyed the most.
“My favorite was the Mexican station [Sandy’s Grill]. I loved the steak tacos that were provided,” said Bree Green, freshman pre-nursing student.
For more information on SUAB, follow their Twitter page @ncatsuab.
