Ottawa hosts successful first-ever Food Truck Rally
Photo by Marta Kierkus
There’s nothing like good food to bring people together.
Whether you are a meatatarian, vegetarian, or just all-around foodatarian, there was something to satisfy everyone’s taste buds at Ottawa’s first-ever Food Truck Rally. On Sept. 28, people from all over the city gathered at the corner of Rochester and Pamilla, near Preston, to enjoy a sunny afternoon while sampling dishes prepared by various food trucks.
On top of giving local food trucks and culinary professionals a chance to share their creations, all of the money raised from the event will go to Ottawa Community Housing (OCH), an organization that provides and manages affordable housing for lower income households. The money from this event will go toward culinary scholarships for some of their tenants.
“It’s about supporting someone in Ottawa Community Housing, to really take on a new challenge in their life, and move forward in something that can lead to job opportunities,” said Wendy Mitchell, executive director of the Community Housing Foundation.
A few City of Ottawa representatives made brief appearances, including city councillor Mathieu Fleury and Mayor Jim Watson, who delivered a speech before the announcement of the food tasting winners.
“This is going to help some young people who would normally not get that chance to go to post-secondary school,” said Watson. “In this case, Algonquin’s wonderful culinary program.”
There were 11 food trucks present, the best of which were Angry Dragonz, Gongfu bao, and Urban Cowboy, according to popular vote.
Keeping up with orders was no simple feat, given the number of people. Six hundred online tickets sold out before the event and nearly double that many showed up throughout the day.
“Just seeing all of these food trucks here together, I think that it’s pretty cool for Ottawa,” said Matt Hinds, a cook from the Urban Cowboy food truck. “It’s also been great exposure for everybody. Hopefully we’ll see this event again next year.”
