Zoey Gingerich, left, paints Letty Fuentes’ face at the Food Truck Friday event, Friday, June 16, in downtown Milford. Photos by Blair Baumgartner.

By Blair Baumgartner
InkFreeNews

MILFORD — The first Food Truck Friday event of the summer took place in downtown Milford, 5-8 p.m. Friday, June 16.

The streets were crowded with families and people of all ages came out to enjoy beautiful weather, food and fun.

There was no shortage of food to choose from as the event had different food trucks offering a wide variety of cuisine.

Angie Deak, Sierra Clark-Kern, Karena Wilkinson and Tricia Gall initially came up with the idea for the event which kicked off last summer.

Clark-Kern of Meet Milford said, “We’re hoping for a great turnout. We’re excited about each month. Every month is a different theme, different music and different food vendors.”

Clark-Kern said last year, during the inaugural year of the event, they had as many as 1,500 people show up on a Friday night.

She said, “Our goal is 2,000 people at one event this year. We try to keep everything affordable for all budget ranges. Obviously, it’s always family-friendly. The whole thing started with the idea of bringing the community together after COVID. It really takes a village. We’re not meant to live in isolation.”

She said the amount of support they’ve received from the community has been phenomenal. They initially were hoping for around 200 people.

Rikki Huggett of Turning Point Coffee Company in Ligonier said, “Turning Point Coffee Company was established in 2019 and is a nonprofit organization. We bring students in on a volunteer basis for internships. We provide students with job skills, mentoring, family times, team-building activities and encourage them in their lives outside of their education.”

The organization had a coffee stand at Food Truck Friday. They are partnered with Turning Point Educational Center in Ligonier and use the proceeds from their coffee sales to impact students’ lives in positive, life-changing ways.

Food Truck Friday takes place in downtown Milford on the third Friday of each month from June through October.