On Friday Darla Taylor was able to summon her willpower.

The Munch Box, a Mexico-based food trailer, beckoned from the parking lot with a tempting menu of fried food. But the foundation development manager for Audrain Community Hospital’s Auxiliary remained steadfast.

“I had gained three pounds,” Taylor reported. “I said ‘I’m not going to do it today.’”

If the final day of the hospital auxiliary’s Week of the Food Truck ended with a cafeteria meal, for others it was one last time to relish the trend of mobile kitchens.

The five day span brought seven different trucks, trailers and tents to the hospital parking lot, along with lines of people, from hospital staff to area residents. By all accounts the first time event was a success.

“Every single day they ran out of at least one item,” Taylor said. “The kettle corn guy, he could not believe how busy they were.”

Gary Garnett, owner of Laddonia-based Big Gun Kettle Corn, spent most of the day huddled over popping corn with a smile on his face asking patrons for patience.

The week opened with Steinman’s food truck, a long time local favorite. El Oso, a Mexican kitchen from Columbia, followed on Tuesday. Morning Glory – another Mexico truck – served breakfast on Wednesday. The next day was a big affair, with Big Gun, Martinsburg’s Okie Doke BBQ and Kona Ice from Columbia.

Mexico’s Munch Box wrapped up things on Friday.

The food truck week served as a fundraiser for the hospital auxiliary. Owners of the mobile kitchens were asked to donate a suggested 10 percent of their sales.

“With COVID we had to think outside the box, do some new things,” Taylor explained.

Taylor said the organization had no idea what to expect, and the donations are only now coming in. She doesn’t anticipate matching the success of a barbecue they held in May at Moser’s that brought in $3,000.

Yet the crowds were impressive.

“The employees loved it,” Taylor pointed out. “Even the cafeteria staff were going out there.”

She adds that hospital staff have asked for a monthly food truck event, although that is unlikely to happen. The auxiliary is, however, mulling the timing and scale of another event.

For now, their attention is turned toward another fundraising event. Their bag, book and bake sale – with ice cream – is set for July 24.

Because fundraising was curtailed by the pandemic, the auxiliary hasn’t been able to raise much to aid the hospital. Through the food truck week and other recent events, they hope to cover the cost of refurbishing the deck that sits outside the facility’s cafeteria.

“We weren’t able to do normal fundraisers, but we wanted to do something for the hospital,” Taylor said.