Food trucks coming to TRU in Kamloops

Students at Thompson Rivers University can expect to see food trucks on campus as soon as next term. This is part of a larger campaign launched by the TRU student union to increase the number of food options that students can access.

"They want more variety in terms of healthier options for some places ... but there's not that much to offer," said student caucus chair Mwansa Kaunda.

He says currently there aren't a lot of choices on campus, and selections are even slimmer for people with dietary restrictions.

The student union first heard about the issue during this year's student budget consultation. From there, the union launched a campaign it called Hungry for Choice and circulated a petition asking for more competition to be introduced to campus food services.

Food trucks to be chosen carefully  

TRU's Ancillary Services — which oversees food services — has announced it will be working to address those concerns by allowing food trucks on campus next year, as well as extending hours of existing operations like the student pub, The Den.

"Our motivation was to bring in a food truck to potentially fill a void," said director of ancillary services Glenn Read.

"We're not interested in a hot dog truck or something that just deep fries food — it's specifically targeted to something we don't necessarily do on campus."

"It's broadening either our ethnic diversity or foods that are vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free so we're just trying to complement what we already do," he said.

Read says after the need for more food choice was made a priority by the student union, his department wanted to be responsive to that demand.

More choices will be made available  

"We've found ways to improve on our program. I think we've done a nice job to date and I think the changes that we're going to make will only improve what we do," said Read.

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Read says food trucks could be on campus as soon as the winter semester, but it's all a matter of lining up an appropriate provider who operates during that timeframe and will be a good fit for the campus.

In addition to the food trucks, the campus could soon see independent food providers being allowed in future developments.

Students can still access food options through existing food service providers like Starbucks and Tim Hortons as well as at the culinary arts department's cafeteria.

With files from Daybreak Kamloops