Anyone who happened to be walking around the Old Elk Grove area on May 1. probably would have seen the collection of people, tents and trucks huddled together near the railroad crossing.

Every first Wednesday of the month, a small army of food trucks descend on the tiny parking lot on the corner of Elk Grove Blvd and Railroad St. for Food Truck Mania: A traveling celebration of clean and high quality food trucks in the Sacramento area.

“They’re not the food trucks of the ‘80s anymore,” said 39-year-old SactoMoFo manager Paul Somerhausen. “They have great food; they’re mom and pop shops and they’re great economic tools.”

Elk Grove Mayor Gary Davis joined together with SactoMoFo, the mobile food truck event organizers, to bring Elk Grove an outdoor family friendly alternative to the traditional brick and mortar restaurants.

The occasional passing of a Southern Pacific freight train did little to disrupt the pleasant environment of the event. The large crowds of families were encouraged by SactoMoFo staff to try their hands at the twelve different food trucks bordering the parking lot.

Each food truck had a noticeably unique appearance, theme and menu. Looking for a slider? Stop by Krush Burger. Taco’s on your mind? Chando’s the line you want to get in. Need to satisfy your sweet tooth? Tube Cake or Rich’s Ice Cream has you covered.

Food truck Mania had the benefit of an uplifting soundtrack supplied by local musicians, Clemon and Friends, who entertained the crowd of eating families with a mix of original folk tunes and popular cover songs.

“Elk Grove is great, just full of great people,” said Clemon and Friends lead singer and guitarist Clemon Charles. “I always have the best time here, and it was such a great turnout.”

The event also gave local businesses an opportunity to advertise and show off their products with a ready-made audience.

Merit Cutler, a 32-year-old employee of the organic food delivery company Farm Fresh to You, has set up a booth at a number of SactoMofo events in the past and wholeheartedly recommended both the event and each food truck in attendance.

“We really enjoy the events they put on, it brings out a nice diverse crowd,” Cutler said. “Everyone loves to eat so it’s a great reason to gather.”

SactoMoFo has been doing food truck events in Elk Grove for the last six months. Besides Elk Grove, SactoMoFo hosts events regularly in the Folsom, West Sacramento, and Roseville areas.  Somerhausen hopes that the stigma against food trucks in the Sacramento area lessons with each stop.

“This is part of our mission, to show the public that this is a good, fun opportunity for the public to enjoy and we don’t see anything wrong with it,” Somerhausen said.