News

Kansas Food Truck Festival returns to East Lawrence

May 4, 2017

The Kansas Food Truck Festival is slated to return to East Lawrence's Warehouse Arts District this weekend, bringing with it 30 trucks hawking everything from chicken wings to crème brulee in service of a good cause, according to the Lawrence Journal-World.

The event, slated for 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday, is the largest annual fundraiser for Just Food, the Douglas County food bank. With summer vacation — and a break from daily school meals for the 40 percent of Lawrence Public Schools students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches — on the horizon, the nonprofit will soon face even greater demand from local families in need, said Elizabeth Keever, Just Food's executive director.

Keever expects around 4,000 people to attend this weekend's event, which will also feature live music, kids' activities and performances from the buskers of the Lawrence Busker Festival. This year's expanded lineup includes local trucks such as Torched Goodness, La Parrilla on Wheels, Drasko's fusion barbecue and Fine Thyme Foods, among others.

New this year is a partnership between the festival and East Lawrence's Bon Bon restaurant. Together, organizers and restaurant staffers will host a beer garden near the intersection of Ninth and Pennsylvania streets, as well as a cocktail club. The Bon Bon Cocktail Club, as Keever calls it, will be stationed inside the Cider Gallery, 810 Pennsylvania St., where guests can sip specialty cocktails, watch the Kentucky Derby and participate in a raffle to benefit Just Food.