Those attending soccer games at the Field of Dreams in New Paltz this year will have a different snacking option: boy scouts will be hawking prepackaged goodies as the approved concessionaire. This arrangement replaces food vendor Maria Mach, who was approved to be on site last year. During the discussion over this new contract, town council members Alex Baer and Julie Seyfert-Lillis suggested encouraging the scouts — whose values include “leave no trace” — to avoid items packaged in single-use plastic and instead focus on food that has more eco-friendly wrapping. That might include biodegradable paper products as well as aluminum cans, but likely not any form of plastic. In a 2022 study, plastics recycling was characterized as a “myth.”
Council members singled out bottles of water as not only problematic but unnecessary, because last year a water fountain with bottle-filler was installed.
Food trucks are also being explored for town events at the venue, which is far from any local restaurant. “Kids get hungry,” remarked Supervisor Neil Bettez, and it can be challenging to plan for all potential hunger pangs. This would be separate from any discussions about selling from food trucks in the wider community, which has proven to be a challenging idea to implement. Village officials learned that restaurateurs were strongly opposed when they explored the concept last year, and in the remainder of the town there aren’t many good places to park one even if they were permitted under local zoning, which they are not. Food truck operators at town parks would be regulated like any other vendor.
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