Yikes! Food Trucks to Increase Price of Existential Dread Over Rice

This morning, food truck owners and operators issued a statement announcing a $2 price increase for the cost of Existential Dread Over Rice. It read as following:

“ATTENTION VALUED CUSTOMERS: Due to high cost of production and large demand, we are announcing that the price of Existential Dread Over Rice will change from $5 to $7. The change will be effective October 2, 2017.”

The markup appears to follow a trend of inflation across food truck menus. Food truck consumers recently saw a price hike for Chicken Over Rice from $5 to $6 this past Monday.

Many members of the Penn community have been eager to share their reactions to the price increases on social media platforms such as Facebook. “Honestly, it saddens me to see that surviving student life is getting even more expensive than it already is. Things here already cost so much. Now we have to pay even MORE for our existential dread? What’s next, imposing markups on our fears of rejection and inadequacy, too?” Jessica* (C’ 18) posted.

However, not all students received the changes so pessimistically. Lee* (W ‘20) was “glad to see [free] market in action.” Chad Frezner (C ‘19) reacted similarly. “If you’ve taken ECON 001, you’ll know that it’s really just simple supply and demand,” Frezner said in an interview with a UTB reporter. “Undergrad and grad students demand a lot of Existential Dread Over Rice, so firms respond by increasing the prices to get more profit. Plus, it’s midterm season.”

Whether more prices increases will follow remains to be seen. Food truck operators have declined to comment on today's price changes. 

Names marked with a * have been changed to pseudonyms.