Thank you, Pablo!

I’m happy to drive the food truck, but I’ll leave the cooking to the chefs.

Hello everyone, and thank you for joining us today as we unveil the AggieEats food truck. This is a first of its kind in the nation that offers free to low-cost meals on a college campus. 

As Pablo mentioned, addressing campus food insecurity is a priority and this innovative program moves us forward significantly.

By expanding the availability of free food without having to build new facilities, the mobile food truck reaches students in a variety of locations across campus throughout the week. And, the confidential pay-what-you-want model helps to reduce the stigma that can prevent students from seeking basic needs support.

The delicious AggieEats food is prepared fresh by Dining Services chefs in the Culinary Support Center on campus. It’s then delivered to the AggieEats team who finishes the preparation and assembles the dishes.

Leading that team is our new food truck coordinator and chef, Sal Ramirez, a 20-year veteran of the food services industry. Sal and his all-student crew have a passion for feeding folks and creating community. They're not just preparing and serving delicious meals, they're connecting students to other basic needs resources.  

The truck started serving meals this week, adding a cooked meal option to the fresh produce, groceries and other food assistance already offered through Aggie Compass and the ASUCD Pantry. Our hope is to grow this program in the future and offer more than 500 meals daily to support students when they need it. 

I’d like to thank Pablo for his leadership and the Division of Student Affairs for being bold in their thinking. They are finding new ways to help ensure the basic needs of our students are met so that they can thrive at UC Davis. 

The food truck will have to leave soon to begin service, so I’d like to invite you to grab a bite to eat, get a closer look at the truck and connect with the AggieEats team before they head out.

Go Ags … and Go AggieEats!