Savory sausages sizzled in the sunshine on a large grill. Hearty tomato sauce and soft mozzarella topped a circle of flattened dough on its way to a wood-fired brick oven. Pulled pork sandwiches oozed with barbecue sauce and cheesy macaroni.
It was all for the dogs.
Nearly 300 people, at $10 a head, came out in the sweltering heat for the inaugural 2018 Gainesville Food Truck Festival at the Peanut Patch and Corn Maze at 8214 SW 89th Ave on Saturday. The festival, hosted by P&L Financial Services Inc., served as a fundraiser for Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs Inc.
“We’re Williston’s best-kept secret,” said Rachel Edwing, the charity’s fundraising events coordinator.
The nonprofit organization provides service dogs for veterans and first responders who have post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury. Dogs are trained and matched with a recipient based on his or her specific need. For example, to prevent self-harm or suicide attempts, some dogs are trained to detect the levels of stress in those who are depressed.
To show their support for the cause, Danny Berry and Crystal Hassell, owners of the corn maze, provided the property for the festival, free of charge. They also did not receive any portion of the ticket sales, Hassell said. All proceeds from ticket sales went directly to the charity as donations.
The festival featured food items for sale from Soup to Nuts, Backyard Grill and Smoke, Dank Cakes, and more than a handful of others. Eggroll Empire offered samples of authentic, homemade garlic crab egg rolls and conch fritters, while Mayflower Cellars had slices of handmade bratwurst and cilantro citrus sausage for tasting.
Additionally, books, do-it-yourself bottled sand art, jewelry, and photography were available for purchase at select tents. The Jax Pack, the promotional team for the Jacksonville Jaguars, was on site, as well as the LifeSouth Community Blood Centers bloodmobile.
Vendors weren’t charged the $200 fee for booth or truck space, said Lisa Clark, branch operations manager at P&L Financial Services Inc. Instead, they were asked to donate a percentage of their sales to the organization. Over 20 vendors obliged, one of which had a personal connection to the cause.
“We’ve raised service dogs before for Southeastern Guide Dogs,” said Frank Archer, owner of Eggroll Empire in Jacksonville. “We knew this was for the veterans. My dad’s been in the military for 27 years, in the Marines, and this is something we felt we should do.”
The training of one service dog is 1,500 hours, roughly two years. To raise and train one dog costs between $25,000 and $40,000. But the organization’s fundraising goal was a different figure.
“Our dream goal is $22,000,” Edwing said. “We set the $22,000 goal in line with the fact that 22 veterans commit suicide a day.”
According to Clark, people are on a waiting list for about seven years for a dog. “Our goal is to raise enough money to take one person off that list,” she said.
That goal was not achieved on Saturday. The festival made a little over $2,000, said Mary Jo Brandt, the nonprofit’s chief operating officer. But she was still positive about the outcome.
“We are very grateful for everyone’s participation and helping us to save lives,” she said.