The culinary students at Greene County Career & Technology Center (GCCTC) are taking their education on the road. In April, a project long in the making was unveiled to the public: GCCTC Eats, the GCCTC’s new food truck.
The new food truck provides the culinary students with a classroom on wheels, where they will gain hands-on, real-world experience in serving the public, working under pressure, communication, and adapting as part of a team.
Dave Calvario of the Community Foundation of Greene County brought the initial idea to GCCTC Director Mark Krupa and Culinary Arts Instructor Dan Wagner. The school located an empty truck on the other side of the state, drove across the state, picked it up, and brought it home. After a consultation with the culinary occupational advisory committee (professionals in the industry) to plan out the truck, the school had Titan Food Truck Manufacturing in Columbus, Ohio, to build their mobile classroom. Direct Results designed and wrapped the completed truck.
“I think the key is that when you look at the corporations, local businesses, everybody that believed in the concept of having the truck for the students for education, and donating funds from their own establishments, that’s what made it possible,” Wagner says. “You have a vision, but you have to have the people behind you to make it possible.”
The students will manage the truck, work out labor costs, food costs, inventory, ordering, running the point-of-sale system. There is a lot of prep work, and logistics, in running the food truck. “We’re all learning something new in the process,” says Mark Krupa.
“I like the recognition [for the truck], because it’s really cool to see other schools wanting to see it, call you about it, businesses, people from Pittsburgh, coming down, taking photos… Other schools are getting inspired. It’s a classroom that is really going to inspire a group of students over the next years to look at small business, entrepreneurship,” Wagner says.
“This is one of those items that you could see the kids turn around and look at smaller food trucks on the market, refit them, and start opening their own business. And from there, it expands to the next level.”
Since its unveiling, the truck has been in high demand. The school is receiving multiple calls a day to attend events. While they’d love to do every event possible, at this beginning stage, they are carefully evaluating possible events to make sure it falls within their capabilities. The menu will comprise around four items, with a couple of signature dishes and some that rotate.
“We want to make sure that we are taking on events where the kids will not be overwhelmed, the people are going to understand we’re going to be a little slower. It’s a learning thing, a classroom. The kids are learning as we’re cooking for them. It’s going to take time. But as time progresses, the kids will learn to adapt, and I think people will embrace it.”
The one thing they want to avoid, Wagner says, is taking business away from other local businesses. “This is not to compete with local businesses, this is a classroom. For each event, we’ll adapt the food we’re offering, so it’s not duplicating the other businesses’ offerings.”
Funds raised by the truck will be used in two different ways. If the event is a fundraiser for a charitable organization, the proceeds will be donated back to the organization. In other cases, the funds will go into the school’s student funds to help pay for educational field trips and competitions or help students that can’t afford necessary school supplies.
The students’ first outing in the truck was for the Mapletown High School’s 100-year celebration the first weekend of May. Other events you can catch the truck at this summer will be Jacktown Fair, Rain Day, Greene County Fair, 50s Fest, Covered Bridge festival, and more. Check out the GCCTC on Facebook or visit the website at to see where the truck will be or to inquire into booking.
“One hundred percent of the funds that were put into the truck came from donations,” Krupa says. “None of this would have happened without the people that have their names on the side of the truck. This wouldn’t be possible without them. And that’s something amazing. I don’t think it would be easy to pull off in any other community. Greene County has a community you can do that in and have that much support from the people, the businesses.”
Thanks go to the local businesses and individual donors that made the truck possible: Jesmar Energy, Gatrell Business Solutions, the Community Foundation of Greene County, Moore Monuments, RG Johnson, Smalley Electric, PA National Lodging and Restaurant Association, DJ’s Diner, Waynesburg VFW, Coles Greene Acres Farm, Greene County Tourism, Hoy’s Concrete, Baily Agency, Fox Ford, First Federal, Jennmar, Iron Senergy, Community Bank, KSW Oilfield Services, McCracken’s Pharmacy, Wilson Accounting, Direct Results, Buddy Greco, Donna Rinehart, and Albie Rinehart.
