NEWS Walnut Valley Unified School District
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 880 S. Lemon Avenue
November 19, 2011 Walnut, CA 91789
Contact:
Kelli Gile, Office of Community Resources
(909) 595-1261 ext. 31204
Families and Foodies Feast at Wheel Truck Fest
WALNUT, CA--Over 4,000 families and “foodies” attended the first-ever Walnut Valley Educational Foundation (WVEF) “Wheel Food Festival” held Saturday, November 19.
“Feed Yourself. Feed Your Community.” attendees came from Diamond Bar, Walnut, several neighboring cities, and as far away as Santa Monica, Victorville, and Huntington Beach to get a taste of the quick and fresh delicacies.
Event entry was $1 and a canned good item or a $2 donation. Cash donations and a portion of the truck sales benefitted Walnut Valley Schools. The canned goods were donated to the Walnut Valley Food Bank.
Seven of Southern California’s most popular food trucks wheeled into the Walnut Valley Unified School District Office in Walnut and served from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. with menu items from $4.
They included popular trucks seen on the Food Network- the Lime Truck, winner of the “Great Food Truck Race 2”, the Nom Nom Truck, finalist from the “Great Food Truck Race 1” and Don Chow Tacos featured on “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.”
Other gourmet eateries included Twist Burgers, Jagasaki Burrito Truck, Cool Haus, and the Slummin’ Gourmet, a hometown food truck.
Loyal gourmet food truck followers track their favorite mobile eateries on social media Foodie Truck Blogs, Twitter, and Facebook.
The day’s culinary adventure included waiting in some long lines in front of the food trucks.
But no one seemed to mind because they knew they’d soon be dining on tender Chinese barbecue pork tacos, gourmet burgers, ahi tuna poke nachos, chipotle glazed sweet potato tots, gooey ice cream sandwiches, and more!
Jordan, the Lime Truck’s “grill guy” reported their hot sellers were the carnitas fries and lamb sandwiches.
“They went all day, it was fantastic!” he said. Several food trucks even sold-out due to the heavy demand.
Dominic, owner of the Santa Monica-based Don Chow Tacos that serves Chinese Mexican fusion cuisine said he had a great time at the debut Wheel Truck Fest. He already plans to participate in the next event slated for March 3, 2012.
“This is legit mint!” exclaimed Chaparral Middle School 8th grader Brandon Murantz after biting into a Cool Haus mint chip ice cream and chocolate cookie ice cream sandwich.
“It tastes like I’m eating a delicious flower!” added Diamond Bar High School freshman Bianca Yugar of her rosemary lavender ice cream and chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich.
The crisp clear weather allowed families to leisurely dine picnic style on blankets and folding lawn chairs.
“I am so happy with today's turn out and am thankful for our Foundation Board Members who helped make it happen,” said Cindy Ruiz, Board of Trustees President and Foundation Board Member.
Over 100 Diamond Bar and Walnut High School students volunteered to help direct traffic, collect canned goods, and pick up trash at the event.
"I'm grateful we have such caring students in our community who came out to help today," Ruiz added.
“This has been overwhelming,” said Gayle Pacheco, WVEF President of all people who had come from near and far to support the event.
“It was a wonderful time to be with the community and raise money for our school district at the same time. And I’m thankful that we can donate to families, especially during the holiday season,” she said.
By the event’s end, the entire food truck was piled high with canned goods ready to be delivered to the Walnut Valley Food Bank. Brownie Troop #2514 and Daisy Troop # 2814 brought boxes with over 400 additional donations.
“We anticipated maybe 2,500 would show up today, but when 4,000 came - it was amazing. The community support makes it great!” added WVEF 1st Vice President Bob Pacheco.
For information about the Walnut Valley Educational Foundation and the next Wheel Food Fest scheduled for March 3 with “Double the Trucks, Double the Yum”, please visit www.wvef.net.
Shown:
Chaparral Middle School student Brandon Murantz tried a Cool Haus ice cream sandwich.
Service with a Smile! Don Chow Tacos owner Dominic took an order from a Santa Monica foodie who followed the event on Twitter.
Wheel to Wheel! Over 4,000 attended the first-ever WVEF Wheel Food Fest held at the Walnut Valley Unified School District Office on Saturday, November 19.
Foodies and families couldn’t wait to dive into the gourmet delicacies offered by the seven food trucks on November 19.