The very first Forney Food Fest was held on Saturday, October 20 at the City Bank Texas parking lot. The event was a fundraiser put together by the Forney High School Lady Jackrabbit's Soccer booster club. The fundraiser brought together eight food trucks to serve lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to long lines of hungry Forney residents.
The very first Forney Food Fest was held on Saturday, October 20 at the City Bank Texas parking lot. The event was a fundraiser put together by the Forney High School Lady Jackrabbit's Soccer booster club. The fundraiser brought together eight food trucks to serve lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to long lines of hungry Forney residents.
Booster club President Bess Dickson explained the need for the fundraiser, “There were major cuts from the State for education, which meant cuts to FISD. The athletic budget for the entire Forney ISD use to be around $500,000.00 but this year it is only $250,000.00.” Parents of athletes were notified that booster clubs would need to get better organized and help their sports offset the serious budget cuts. $125,000.00 of the entire athletic budget goes to paying officials and keeping up playing fields. That meant that the Lady Jackrabbit's soccer teams would get enough money for new soccer balls, but not much else.
Food trucks have become a popular addition to local communities, which gave the booster club the idea of getting a variety of trucks to come to Forney and help them raise money for new uniforms. The event brought a large crowd of people out to try different meals and desserts, all for a good cause. In fact, it was so popular that the lines at some trucks took thirty minutes to get through. Bess Dickson hopes that this will become an annual event and the boosters intend to make it even bigger and better next year.
Dickson's daughter is Senior utility player Allie Dickson. She has already secured an academic/athletic scholarship to the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Allie and her teammates were selling $5 wristbands to the Food Fest. The wristbands were the main source of fundraising, as they allowed the purchaser to then buy food from any of the food trucks. Some of the trucks, such as Rockn' Rick's donated all of their tips to the booster club. The club reports that they raised $2,700.00 with the event, but the number should rise because each food truck has pledged 10% of their profits to the booster club.
Food trucks at the event included: Bob's Shaved Ice, Cool Haus (gourmet ice cream sandwiches), Four Seasons (angus burgers), Easy Slider, Nammi Truck (Vietnamese food), Rockn' Rick's, and Rock and Roll Tacos. Each truck provided a unique eating experience for the crowd. State Representative Lance Gooden rode in the Community Parade earlier in the day and then made his way to the Food Fest. City Manager Brian Brooks also showed up to lend his support to the Lady Jackrabbit's Soccer teams.