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Food Truck Friday at FFNB honors U.S. veterans

Commonwealth Journal - 7/3/2022

Jul. 2—First & Farmers. Food trucks. And the fight for freedom.

All of those things came together on the Friday before Independence Day as First & Farmers National Bank in Somerset held a special event honoring those who have served their country, giving them deep discounts on meals from some of the area's tastiest on-the-go lunch spots.

"We've had hundreds of veterans come out here today," said Andrea Clue, Marketing Director for First & Farmers National Bank (FFNB). "... In all four of our markets — Albany, Burkesville, Columbia and right here in Somerset — we're giving out free $15 vouchers to every veteran to be able to get a free meal on us from their choice of food truck."

Though the "Food Truck Friday" concept is not new to FFNB in Somerset — it started in 2019 after moving to its current location; "We thought it was perfect place to be able to showcase food trucks," said Clue — it is the first time for a "Veteran Appreciation Edition," something Clue said may ideally become an annual event.

The Somerset FFNB location on South U.S. 27 had four food trucks present — Mac Chaos, The Moody Cow, Piggin' Out, and Antojitos Chabelitos — on Friday afternoon during lunch hours.

"We did a mix of local and a few from out of town," said Clue. She pointed out tents and tables set up so people could get out of the heat and sit and enjoy their food with fans blowing on them.

In the other locations, food trucks don't commonly gather on Fridays around the bank, but for this event, "it wasn't any problem at all to get food trucks to come" to smaller markets so as to honor veterans.

Clue also noted that FFNB had special hats designed to honor veterans that were made available.

In particular, Clue said that First & Farmers was honored to have the American Legion Post 38 Honor Guard stop by in between serving at area funerals.

The event was also open to the public to come by and visit the food truck of their choosing.

"We've had all kinds of people excited about the holiday weekend come in and have lunch with us too," said Clue.

The veterans who attended were appreciative of the gesture by FFNB and the food truck owners present.

"I think it's great for the different businesses that do this," said Mark Daniels, E-4 in the U.S. Air Force, serving until 1991 as part of the security police. "I look at veterans — they stepped up for their community. You have other citizens who volunteer, but you go in the military, you're taking a chance. ... So I think it's excellent. I really thank First & Farmers for this."

Daniels was pleased with the turnout, and how busy the parking lot was, packed with cars on a Friday afternoon.

Also pleased was Alex Rodriguez, who helps his family operate Antojitos Chabelitos. It's perhaps the area's newest food truck, serving fare like street tacos, tortas, and quesadillas, and doing the FFNB event was both good exposure for a starting-out business and something meaningful to Rodriguez.

"We have only been open for about a week and a half, but it's been super-successful so far," said Rodriguez. "My brother, he's in the National Guard. ... So we've had a lot of friends in the military, have family in the military, so I'm more than happy to be here, doing this for everyone."

Steve Ramquist, owner of Mac Chaos, also appreciated being part of the special Food Truck Friday.

"We are grateful to First & Farmers National Bank for including us in this opportunity to show gratitude to our country's military veterans," he said. "On this, our one-year anniversary of being in business, we also want to thank the Pulaski County community for their tremendous show of support for our food truck! What a beautiful day and outstanding turnout!"

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(c)2022 the Commonwealth Journal (Somerset, Ky.)

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