No weekend night out is complete without the quintessential late-night meal. Many college students are familiar with those intense midnight cravings, satiated only by a big greasy pizza or a mountain of chicken nuggets. Yet before biting into that glorious slice, you have to wait for what feels like forever for Doordashers to deliver the food (after inevitably getting lost on Siena’s campus). But what if there was a way to get delicious food late on weekend nights, fast, and on campus? This, incidentally, is exactly the purpose of Siena’s newest pilot project, the Late Night Eats Food Truck. Senior Jonathan Limey, co-chair of the Food Committee, was contacted to divulge all the delicious details.
The inspiration for this project, according to Limey, was twofold. Siena had a food truck active before 2020, which would be active during warmer evenings of the year. While operations were presumably halted due to the pandemic, the goal is to bring something similar back to campus. Secondly, Limey credits his work at the Schenectady Inner City Ministries food pantry and local high school as inspiration for this project. It was through this social work that “taught [him] to meet people where they are”. Realizing that it was unrealistic to simply implore students to abstain from drinking, Limey sought to find a way to lessen the adverse effects of alcohol. Thus, he reasoned that “if students are drinking outside and causing issues at MacClosky Square, then we should get them food before the issues arise.” The eventual goal is to offer food during the most active times on Friday and Saturday nights. Additionally, high-protein food will be served to best curb adverse alcohol effects—contrary to popular belief, protein (not carbs) slows these effects best.
This project was first piloted back on Halloween weekend, which was sponsored by Active Minds. Students were able to order free burgers and fries starting at 10 pm. By 11 pm, they were out of fries, and just 15 minutes later, all the burgers were gone too. The successful pilot tallied 200 orders from happy customers and positive feedback from Public Safety and Community Living—all agreed that the harm reduction approach had positive effects on the student body. While this pilot event was free for students, food will most likely be available for purchase with bonus dollars going forward. AVI was the chosen vendor for the first pilot event for both the convenience and for applicability to future projects, but other vendors are being considered.
While still in the pilot phase, the long-term goal of this project is to have a more permanent food truck offering food on Friday and Saturday nights. Similar to the Siena Food Truck before 2020, the food truck would be active during the warmer months of August-October and March-May. Students would be able to purchase meals with either bonus dollars or meal swipes.
A second pilot is in the works for St. Patrick’s Day weekend. While the details aren’t set in stone yet, Limey did share that the truck will be available on March 16th starting at 9 pm. Food will be free for students and is first come, first served. All feedback is collected through word of mouth and conversations with the administration and food committee, so if you have the chance, share your thoughts with Jonathan or other administrators! The more positive feedback from students received, the more likely these food trucks will become a permanent part of campus. Jonathan can be contacted at jb25lime@siena.edu.
A special thanks to Jonathan Limey for his time and contributions to this article.