The Green Tidings food truck operates from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside of Cole Field House and serves a special each day.
CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story misspelled a source’s name. The article has been updated to include the correct spelling.
Sustainable, gourmet food is right around the corner since Good Tidings opened the new Green Tidings food truck this month.
Inspiration struck after Good Tidings, the university’s catering company, found a truck that was the perfect size for a food truck complete with a fully functioning kitchen, said executive chef Will Rogers, who founded Green Tidings with Good Tidings Assistant Director Abbott Albright.
The goal was to create a green business model in line with the campus community’s focus on sustainability, Rogers said. Using ingredients from a garden outside Stamp Student Union and from farms in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the company has developed a menu that’s attracting people from all over the campus and College Park.
“You see it out your window and dash out,” said Andrea Morris, computer, mathematical and natural sciences college assistant dean. Many employees don’t have an opportunity to leave the campus for a lunch break, she said, so the food truck’s accessibility is creating a buzz among staff.
Open during the summer on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the truck stops at a different location on the campus every day, and patrons can track its daily location on the Twitter account @UMDGreenTidings. Though the truck only takes cash and credit cards during the summer, students will be able to use Terrapin Express in the fall.
Since the food truck’s opening on June 10, the excitement of the food truck spread through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. On Wednesdays, when the Farmers Market sets up outside Cole Field House, the truck parks near the area. The truck typically averages 100 orders a day, but it’s been reaching closer to 250 orders on Wednesdays, Rogers said.
Lisa Holt, owner of College Park-based Paperworks Balloons and Gifts, discovered the food truck through a retweet on Twitter and decided to put her 10-year-old son in her car and hunt for the source.
“It was kind of like Where’s Waldo,” Holt said. “The food was amazing. The steak sandwich was to die for; it was so gourmet-tasting.”
With a small selection of soups, salads, entrees and dessert, meals are priced between $5 and $7, Rogers said. The menu will change every other week and adjust to the season, Rogers said.
“It was a little pricey and not a huge portion, but lamb is usually expensive, and I thought it was well worth the money,” said junior mathematics major Philip Marx, who tried the braised lamb shoulder sandwich. “[I am] definitely trying the fish tacos next.”
The truck’s prices are competitive with dining options in Stamp Student Union, Rogers said. But the convenience of the food truck isn’t likely to draw away from the customer base of the Maryland Food Co-op, which also offers organic, locally sourced food options.
Both companies stand behind the idea of “food for people and not for profit,” said Renita Tyler-Richards, a Co-op employee and university alumna. She’s not worried about any competition, she said, adding the companies could coexist with their similar business principles.
In the face of friendly competition, Rogers and his coworkers hope the food truck’s chefs will continue to “grow and expand their palette,” Rogers said, as well as expose the campus community to sustainable dining in the coming academic year.
“It really fits our green profile,” Rogers said. “We are just trying to be as healthy and sustainable as possible.”
