Who doesn’t love comfort foods? They are, quite literally, the hot, homemade meals that make us feel, well… comforted. They’re the types of food we choose when we want to forego the calorie counting and opt to just enjoy a hearty, familiar, delicious meal.
June Somers took the idea of comfort food and brought it to another level – the food truck. She also took the idea of the most classic comfort food, the grilled cheese sandwich, and knocked it right out of the park. The result was the Mom On The Go Food Truck.
Somers, who had worked in the business world for 25 years, had researched the food truck industry for two years before she decided to take the leap.
“I bought my first truck in July of 2016 out of New Hampshire,” she said. “It had to be modified to fit Massachusetts code, and we were up and running by October of 2016. I decided on a grilled-cheese food truck because, who doesn’t love a classic grilled cheese?”
She also felt the truck and the menu allowed her to be creative, in the culinary sense. Over time, and with some experimentation, her grilled cheese menu evolved to include even more delectable options – and her customers loved them.
“Our most popular is the classic grilled cheese,” Somers said, “but we also have other rotating grilled cheeses such as the Loaded Baked Potato Grilled Cheese, Apple Bacon Cheddar Grilled Cheese, and Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese. We try to introduce new sandwiches all the time. We typically serve five or six different grilled cheeses at a time. We like to do seasonal varieties, as well, such as The Gobbler in November, Pumpkin Butter Grilled Cheese in October, and Corned Beef in March.”
Her food truck business, however, took a major hit with the arrival of the pandemic, just as she was preparing for a busy spring and summer season.
“In March 2020, my second food truck was delivered. Normally, in January and February, we book our season out through October, which we did. But as soon as the pandemic hit, all of those cancelled. Weddings, events, festivals, corporate lunches – all gone. We were looking at a completely empty calendar!”
Somers and her team were able to pivot and kept the original truck up and running, and started serving neighborhoods to survive.
“People were super supportive,” she said, “and soon we were doing three or four neighborhoods in a day. It’s a lot more labor-intensive to set up and break down three or four times a day (for less money, as well), but we did it and were happy to have the work,” she said.
By September, Somers found herself looking at her second truck with its big, beautiful new kitchen, just sitting there, and decided to start a new division of Mom On The Go – “Comfort Food Wednesdays.” It was a way for her to keep busy from October through March and keep revenue flowing over the winter.
“We make comfort food meals once a week,” she said. “People order by Sunday and we deliver on Wednesdays. We make lasagna, shepherd’s pie, beef and broccoli and, in March, corned beef and cabbage. We change up the meals for variety.”
Customers can pick up their meals at the Hanover location (46 Twin Fawn Drive) from noon to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, or they can have their food delivered to their home.
“I’ve been really surprised at how it’s grown! We make meals for two or four people. Now, we’re feeding 100 to 200 people per week. It’s been awesome and we are going to keep it going as a permanent division of Mom On The Go.”
Mom On The Go Food Trucks primarily serve the South Shore, from Plymouth up to Boston. Occasionally they will go outside that area for a large festival or event. During a typical year (without a pandemic) they can be found at music festivals, food truck festivals, weddings, birthdays, graduations, corporate events and more.
“We go year-round,” Somers said. “We move around, so we post on Facebook and Instagram where we are located. Since the pandemic, we’ve added that order-ahead element and people really like it.”
With so much gratitude for those who have continued to support the business, Somers and her team are only too happy to give back to the community where they can.
“We’ve been to Carolina Hill in Marshfield and we fed everyone for free, and we’ve done a few events with the Hanover Senior Center. In the fall, we had a free grilled cheese day,” said Somers. “I was finding that with the Comfort Food Meals, people were ordering for others, families with COVID, elderly relatives. So we asked the Hanover community to let us know if they knew of someone in need (COVID, financial or any other reason) and we would give away one of our meals. We’ve delivered over 50 meals for free to those going through a tough time. It’s been really fulfilling for us to help in that way. People can also donate any sum of money on our website to help with those donated meals.”
Somers is encouraged for 2021, saying while it still won’t be the same as previous years, they are already seeing an uptick in requests for their services on the truck.
“Our goal is to keep both trucks busy and keep the Comfort Food Meals growing!” she said.
Mom On the Go Food Truck, 46 Twin Fawn Drive, Hanover, 617-240-9347, MomOntheGoFoodTruck.com
