Families head out to Centennial Square for a Mother’s Day food truck event

Rob Hagan
·2 min read

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Families are coming together to celebrate the most important day of the year: Mother’s Day.

A lot of people celebrate by going out to eat, and some headed out to the Mother’s Day food truck event in Oildale. Brunch is big deal when it comes to treating mom on Mother’s Day, and there’s a brunch like no other coming from your local food truck.

“Food trucks are the thing these days,” said Donna Clopton with the Oildale Community Action Team. “Everybody loves food trucks.”

Clopton is president of the Oildale Community Action Team. She’s bringing local moms together with the power of food at the Centennial Square, located at North Chester and Norris Road.

Hopeton Merchant, the owner and operator of Hopeton’s Jerk Stand, is the self proclaimed king of oxtail.

“I’m the king of oxtail,” said Merchant. “King of oxtail, king of jerk chicken around here.”

Merchant said his food truck has been up and running in Bakersfield for two years. He said he’s still the only Jamaican food truck in town.

“If you’re gonna get it here or go to Jamaica, you’re getting the same thing, you know, nothing changed,” said Merchant. “You’re just getting it from the island to you right here.”

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But it’s more than a taste of something different on a beautiful day for Donna Clopton, because each day is another chance at redemption.

“I’m a former drug addict, and I moved here from L.A. to get myself cleaned up and start my life over,” said Clopton. “If you have the right state of mind and want to cleanup and change your life, you could do it.”

Clopton used to sell cocaine in Los Angeles. She said she used to break up families as a drug dealer. Now, she brings them together with community events like the Mother’s Day Food Truck event.

She said she moved to Bakersfield the day of the Earthquake in 1994, and met her husband at a drug rehab meeting days later. Now, they have three kids and seven grandchildren.

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