Michigan State University Culinary Services has introduced a new food truck, Eat at State On-the-Go, serving burgers, sandwiches, salads, snacks and drinks year-round.
“Food helps build community, and that’s exactly what our new food truck will be doing on campus,” says Guy Procopio, director for MSU Culinary Services. “It’s going to make Eating at State more portable and convenient. We’re constantly looking at creative ways to enhance and support our community without necessarily relying on traditional food services, which is what we’ve done with Eat at State On-the-Go.”
The truck will be offering menu items with campus and local ingredients—greens grown at the MSU Student Organic Farm, beef raised on campus, cheese from the MSU Dairy Store, desserts from the MSU Bakers and bread baked locally at Breadsmith Artisan Bread Bakery of Okemos, MI—as part of the Grown at MSU program. The fall menu includes local and vegetarian options such as MSU’s own smoked cheddar cheeseburger, salad wrap, salad wrap with chicken, chicken sandwich, smashed chickpea sandwich and specialty sandwich.
“The menu’s inspiration came from taking a local mindset and thinking about what our guests like to eat to create items that are fun and flavorful,” says Kurt Kwiatkowski, corporate chef for MSU Culinary Services. “Our signature item is the smoked cheddar cheeseburger and with all of its ingredients grown, raised or made on campus or in the community, it doesn’t get more local.”
The food truck contains a flat-top grill, a hot box, a bakery cabinet, a refrigerator, a quiet generator and a three-compartment sink. The vehicle was designed in cooperation with a company called Mobi Munch. The Ingham County Health Department vetted and approved plans and conducted food and work safety inspections.
Eat at State On-the-Go accepts cash, credit cards, Spartan Cash and on- and off-campus student and faculty/staff dining plans through Combo-X-Change and Flex Option. Eat at State On-the-Go is located north of Shaw Hall near the Red Cedar River on MSU’s campus from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily during fall semester while Shaw Dining Hall is under construction. It will also be serving at fall football games. Beginning spring semester 2013, the truck will be moving to different campus locations.
This past summer, Eat at State social media followers gave their input in naming the truck. The three top names, Green Machine, ST82PL8 and Go Green Cuisine, were added into the designed graphic wrapping on the truck. Guests can “follow” the food truck and find out more about campus dining through “Eat at State” on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.