Food Truck Festival returning to N.S. after two years

For the first time in two years, food trucks from across Nova Scotia will gather together Thursday with hopes of serving thousands at the Food Truck Festival.

"We're all really looking forward to just getting back out there and doing it again," said Matthew Mooney, owner of Purple People Feeder, one of the vendors at the festival.

The festival is organized by the Nova Scotia Food Truck Association, an organization consisting of 20 food truck vendors in the province. It's been happening since 2017, but due to the pandemic it hasn't been able to run for the past couple of years.

Mooney started his food truck and catering operation in 2017 serving salty sweet creations, and mainly does private catered events.

'Quite a bit of hype'

He said this year's festival, taking place between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. at Cole Harbour Place in Dartmouth, will be a great opportunity for the public to try new foods. Vendors will be able to connect with each other and customers, but Mooney said he'll also spend time with his friends and family doing what they love: cooking.

"We work solely with family and friends. That's our staff, so I think the best part about the whole thing is that it gives us some good family time together on the truck," Mooney said.

Terry Miller, the president of the Nova Scotia Food Truck Association, said they usually get thousands of people coming out to the festival, so they're expecting a good turnout this year considering the long hiatus.

"We've been ramping this [up] now for about two months, trying to build it up and there seems to be quite a bit of hype around it," said Miller.

"We did one over by the Museum of History over in Halifax by the Wanderers Grounds about four years ago, we had almost 7,000 people."

Donations for Ukraine

Miller said this year there will be no price of admission and instead the 10 participating vendors will have donation buckets set up for the Red Cross to support those impacted by the war in Ukraine. Tips will also be donated.

Gordon Stewart, the executive director of the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia, said food trucks are part of the province's food culture and have been affected in similar ways as restaurants during the pandemic.

"It's been pretty challenging for anyone in that sector, they pretty much experienced the same kind of thing we are, so it's probably time for them to get out — get going overall."

Stewart said the festival in a way signals the start of patio season and will hopefully encourage more people to get out and start enjoying restaurant meals outdoors again.

Miller said he hopes to have a lot more events in the future, but for now they're taking it slow.

"I want to make sure we get this one on the underway and make it go nice and smooth. I'm looking to do one a month, that will be the goal."