“Food trucks are a growing trend,” Terri Chance, co-owner of the Mr. Softee truck.

Others were University Dogs, Notorious P.I.G., Coffee Connection and Sack’s.

Ronnie Franklin parked his Sack’s truck along with the others. This was his first time at the event, although he has been traveling the area serving turkey burger creations for nearly five years. The business is based in Springfield. “But we do events in Decatur and festivals and fairs,” he said.

He serves food from the truck on Thursdays and Fridays in the parking lot of the Golden Fox Brewing, located at 2874 N. Dinneen St., Decatur. On weekends, he is on the road serving in various locations. “I’ve had a lot of opportunities outside of Decatur,” Franklin said. “We are trying to build a concept and we sacrifice a lot working with breweries.”

The food is also different, which includes dishes with turkey burgers and meat.

Franklin wanted to be part of the food drive because Wednesday was a significant date for the country. “Since it is 9/11, anything that we can do to be a part of that type of community service, we wanted to be a part of it,” he said.

Julie Stalets has been to the annual food drive kickoff for six years with the Coffee Connection truck. She almost missed this year due to a prior commitment. The staff was reminded when they were returning from the previous event and saw the shuffleboard tournament. Since an empty spot was available, they decided to join at the last minute. “This is for a great cause,” Stalets said.

After the season ends in a few weeks, Chance will send the food truck away for maintenance. “We put this through the wringer in the summertime. So it needs some work done,” she said. “Then we get ready to start it all up again in March.”

The event also included a shuffleboard competition and kicked off the 18th annual WSOY Community Food Drive, which seeks to have 1.5 million pounds of food donated. The 12-hour drive is Friday, Oct. 4, at the Airport Plaza Kroger. 

PHOTOS: WSOY Community Food Drive through the years