Texas State University Dining is enhancing its food offerings by introducing a rotation of diverse food trucks on the Quad starting August 26. This new initiative aims to provide students with more local and varied dining options while supporting local businesses, many of which are minority or women-owned.
The food trucks will be available on campus from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Thursday, stationed between Evans Liberal Arts and Flowers Hall. Each day, two different food trucks will serve students, offering a wide range of culinary experiences.
Chin Hong Chua, the resident district manager for Chartwells, the university’s dining services provider, emphasized the importance of this initiative. "A lot of people want more local food, more diverse food options, more local owner partnerships, and I think this is a good direction," Chua said.
Students can conveniently pay using Bobcat Bucks, credit, or debit cards. Some food trucks may even offer their own apps for pre-ordering or arranging deliveries. However, unlike other campus dining options, food from these trucks cannot be delivered through GrubHub.
With the steady increase in student enrollment at Texas State University, expanding lunchtime dining options became a priority. To accommodate this need, Texas State Dining began constructing a dedicated food truck area on July 25, completing it by August 16. This area is equipped with essential amenities like electricity and data lines to facilitate card payments.
In the first week of the rotation, the food trucks will offer a variety of cuisines, including Mexican food, burgers, BBQ, and wings. One of the featured trucks, Lady Picoza, specializes in authentic Mexican cuisine. Owned by Gabriela Mondragon, who moved from Mexico City to Central Texas in 2008, Lady Picoza has been serving customers for over fourteen years, primarily at a military base in San Antonio. The food truck offers a diverse menu, including vegetarian options, with everything prepared fresh daily. This allows students to customize their orders to suit their tastes.
Gabriela’s business partner, Deby Mondragon, highlighted their commitment to providing students with healthy, home-cooked-style meals. “I know some students don’t have family here, so we try to make it as homemade and as family-cooked style food so they can have that opportunity to eat something healthy as well,” she said.
Lady Picoza plans to continue participating in the rotating food truck program and return to Texas State’s campus in the future. In addition to Lady Picoza, students can also enjoy offerings from Yapa Empanadas and AJs Ranch Road Grill, which will be stationed outside Academic Services Building South throughout the semester.
The success and sustainability of the food trucks on campus will be evaluated based on their revenue and popularity. Chua explained, "If the food truck has some healthy elements and [it is] getting a lot of traction, you will see more of this kind of food truck on campus. But if it is not, unfortunately [we won’t] be able to sustain it."
Texas State Dining is committed to continually improving its offerings. Whitney Villarreal, director of marketing and guest experience at Texas State Dining, mentioned that the department conducts surveys each fall to gather student feedback. "I feel like we get really good feedback. Students are happy with the variety, but if they can get more, they want to see more, and we’ve seen they want more variety," Villarreal said.
Students like Madeline Layton, a fashion merchandising sophomore, have expressed a desire for more fresh and healthy dining options on campus. "Food makes everyone happy, and so I think if there is more variety and better food, then everyone will totally agree with [food trucks] and love it," Layton said.
Looking ahead, Texas State Dining has plans to continue expanding and adapting to the needs of the growing student population. One exciting project on the horizon is a 24-hour self-service market at the Student Recreation Center, which will utilize advanced technology similar to Amazon’s Just Walk Out. The market, scheduled to open next year, will use sensors and cameras to track purchases and automatically charge accounts.
Additionally, students will notice changes at The Den this fall, where Burger 101 and Blimpie American Sub Shop will be transformed into an express dining hall with a buffet-style setup similar to Harris Dining Hall. Blimpie will be relocated to the UAC cafe this school year.
"We will continue to expand and change as student trends do," Chua said. "We have more international students coming, so our food options also need to be on par with their expectations."