MiddCORE Inspires Vermont’s First Mac & Cheese Food Truck

When most students hear the name “MAC Truck,” they may first think of the Mack trucks that are a common sight on every major roadway in America.  However, Maryam Mahboob ’18 proposes a different kind of MAC Truck: the Mac and Choose Truck, the first food truck dedicated to macaroni & cheese in the state of Vermont.

According to Mahboob, her inspiration for the truck came from a few too many bouts with late night hunger after The Grille closed.

“Walking outside on a Vermont winter day, freezing and hungry, only to find that we’ve missed The Grille by a few minutes [was] hugely disappointing,” Mahboob said. “In conversations I’ve had with my peers, I found that they express the same issue: the lack of dining options, especially late at night, is a real problem at Middlebury.”

Mahboob conducted a poll asking if students would be interested in a late-night food truck and received overwhelmingly positive responses. As a result of this perceived need, and with the help of a summer spent participating in MiddCORE, the College’s summer leadership program in Lake Tahoe, as well as space and some funding through the Old Stone Mill initiative, Mahboob is looking to correct the problem. The proposed MAC Truck would be open from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Sunday to Thursday and 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, outlasting The Grille by 2 hours on weekdays and an hour on the weekends.

As the name suggests, the menu will consist primarily of macaroni and cheese, although Mahboob notes that organic juices and hot beverages are also likely to be served. Mahboob believes that the wide choice of condiments that the MAC Truck will offer for its namesake dish will set it apart from any competition; she aspires to “be the premier server of macaroni and cheese in Middlebury” because of this.

To gain a better sense of potential customers’ wishes, Mahboob operated a macaroni & cheese bar during a dining hall lunch at Sierra Nevada College during MiddCore this summer. Mahboob offered bacon bits, buffalo sauce, fried chicken, chives, scallions, bread crumbs, shrimp, blueberries, blue cheese and tomatoes among others as toppings for the macaroni.

“I asked over fifty college students about their thoughts on macaroni and cheese condiments and nearly all students responded positively,” Mahboob said. A second test achieved equally positive results. Mahboob noted that several participants gave constructive feedback about selection and food quality, all concerns that she has addressed as she looks to move forward. The truck will look to emphasize local and organic options with all of its condiments.

As Mahboob looks to bring the MAC Truck to the streets of Middlebury, her next steps are fundraising through MiddSTART, registering the MAC Truck as a legal business, applying to be a student vendor on campus, and finding other students to help staff the truck, which will be run entirely by students.  A website is also under development.

If all goes according to plan, Mahboob hopes to be up and running by the spring semester, or even as early as this upcoming J-Term.

If all goes well, Mahboob may even expand outside of Middlebury.