Students, alumni, family, locals and Karl the Fog gathered on Welch Field on Aug. 24 to enjoy chicken and waffles, birria tacos, falafel and more. Folks stood in lines that snaked across Gleeson Plaza, and the scent of fried chicken, sizzling curry and freshly pressed waffles wafted through the air. For the first time in USF history, food trucks rolled onto campus for Hilltop Street Eats.
Hosted by Student Life Engagement (SLE) and ASUSF Senate, the event marked a shift in how the university approaches community, food and student experiences. Instead of the usual array of tables and steel trays with catering from Bon Appétit, food trucks such as Lilo’s Kitchen, Sunrise Deli, The Waffle Roost, Curry Up Now and Chick N Bros parked on the plaza, bringing bites like chicken sandwiches to shawarma–a refreshing variety in flavors for people to choose from.
House and pop music played through speakers as students sprawled across the steps with their trays. Welch Field was a mini festival, filled with laughter, the metallic clatter of food truck kitchens and the occasional exclamation when someone took their first bite of warm curry or a maple syrup-drenched waffle.
“I really can’t complain about it, it looks like [USF administrators] are doing a lot of things for the students, it’s really nice,” Andreas Jack Christiansen, first-year graduate student in the computer science department said. “I’ve mainly met people from our classes and orientation, but people [at Hilltop Street Eats] are super outgoing and nice.”
Students were offered the opportunity to use their Flexi Meal Plan to purchase tickets for the food trucks. For $8, you would get one ticket for a food truck and one for ice cream. Alcoholic beverages, such as beer and wine, were also offered to those 21+.
Students were in clusters on the lawn, comparing plates and swapping bites, along with games such as cornhole, hula hoop and axe-throwing.
The class of 2029 enjoyed using their Flexi for their first major on-campus event, taking place after their first Silk Speaker Series of the year. “It was kind of complicated at first [with Flexi],” Michaelah Mendoza, first-year media studies major said. “I wish we could have bought tickets before, because we had to wait in a super long line, and we were confused where to buy the tickets,” she said. “It was still cool that Flexi was an option to pay and it was included.”
Students not only appreciated the variety of food options, but also the turnout. “This makes me feel very much more connected to San Francisco,” sophomore critical diversity studies major Jesus Aguilar said, as he held a tray of birria tacos from Lilo’s Kitchen with his dog, Pablo. “Restaurants coming to campus makes it feel more like a community, with the students and all that.”
Lester Deanes, dean of students, helped organize the event, making sure students had the option to get food for a good deal. “I have seen a huge response from students being able to use Flexi to buy food,” Deanes said, while eating his tikka masala burrito from Curry Up Now.
As previously reported by The Foghorn, USF has historically kept food service limited to its on-campus dining halls and cafes, per the contract with catering vendor Bon Appétit. The arrival of the five food trucks encouraged students to come out and celebrate. By partnering with local vendors, USF gave students a taste of the city’s culinary identity without leaving campus.
The idea for Hilltop Street Eats had been cooking up since May 2025. “We had an idea and then we pitched it to the higher ups in USF, and then went back for some fixing and feedback…it was originally a night market idea,” Kenny Van, SLE student organization consultant said. “The night market idea was too much of a budget, so we had to cut it down to food trucks.”
Emiko Uohara, ASUSF senate president, was also part of the process. “We tried to get food trucks last year during Earth month for the first sustainability event, and it was really difficult to secure them,” she said. “I think this is a great way to introduce food trucks and [show] that they should be on campus more often. It’s a great step forward and it’s like collaboration with the community.”
When it came to selecting the vendors, there were several cooks in the kitchen.
“Julie Orio, Donna Davis, others, Shannon Gary, all were a part of that conversation, really working together, trying to come up with something that we thought students would enjoy,” Deanes said. “We tried to get feedback from students about vendors that we thought would work. Bon Appétit has been a great partner with us, as well as its management.”
The chosen food trucks brought a slice of the greater Bay Area foodie scene to campus. Sunrise Deli, known for its falafel and shawarma, has been a fixture in the city since the 1980s. Curry Up Now began as a single truck in 2009 and has since grown into a multi-location phenomenon, famous for their tikka masala burritos. Chick N Bros strutted onto the Bay Area food scene in 2020, quickly building a following for its bold fried chicken flavors.
“We came from South San Francisco,” Curry Up Now manager, Esvin Salazar, said, “People love our food, and you can see it [here].”
While every truck was a hit, a line resembling the hungry, hungry caterpillar formed for The Waffle Roost, a chicken and waffles truck from San Jose, which sold out well over an hour before the event was slated to end.
“I’m at The Waffle Roost because I’ve had them before, and I love them,” Tyler Tong, junior mathematics major, said, “I’m super excited to have them.”
Tyler Tong accompanied his aunt, Connie Tong, one of the many family members of USF students who came to the event. “I first came for the Silk Speaker Series, and now I’m here at the food trucks. It’s really nice to see the whole community get together,” Connie Tong said. “It’s just vibrant.”
Of all the events during his three years at USF, this one stood out to Tyler Tong the most. “We have events like Celebrate USF, Silk Speaker Series every year,” he said. “You already know what’s going on.”
“I feel like we haven’t seen [the USF community] come together this late at night, like ever. There’s a lot of people coming from all over, not just conveniently here from Gillson or Toler (on-campus dorms),” he said.
By the end of the night, the last group of people to leave were those waiting for their order from Chick N Bros, cheering once their late-night munchies were served up.
Organizers hinted that Hilltop Street Eats may not be a one-time experiment. “We’re trying to find other ways to do something like this in the future,” Deanes said. “We really care about you all. We thought we wanted to start [the school year] off right.”
