COLUMBUS, Ohio — Food trucks, festivals, and fútbol have been sidelined since March due to COVID-19, but an event Sunday at MAPFRE Stadium brought Columbus Crew fans together in a socially distant format to support the club, as well as the city’s hurting street food vendors.

Hundreds of fans came out to eat at the drive-thru food truck rally, which featured about a dozen vendors in the stadium parking lot as part of Columbus’s annual 614 Day celebration.

Attendees placed orders online and dined in cars, trunks, and tailgates at the all-day event, which spanned nine hours from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. to reduce crowding.

Food trucks have been particularly hard-hit by COVID-19. Event cancellations and office closures has crippled revenues for street vendors. And the process of navigating government loan programs can present challenges for tiny operations like food trucks.

“Right now everybody is either cooking at home or doing take-out from brick and mortar stores. The food trucks – we’ve been sort of been forgotten about,” said Janvier Ward, the owner of Creole 2 Geaux, which serves New Orleans-style cuisine. “So this event was amazing. It almost felt like our normal food truck season again. People really showed up for us.”

Alyssa and Jake Keough, who are regulars at some of Columbus’s food trucks, were thankful for the opportunity to take out from some of their favorite spots, which they said have been harder to find recently due to closures and cancellations. They would normally patronize food trucks at bars and other locations around the city, including now-cancelled or postponed events like the Columbus Pride Festival, the Jazz & Rib Fest, and the Dublin Irish Festival.

“I work at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, and knowing how serious things are with COVID-19, it’s nice to support these businesses that are struggling with fewer events going on,” said Alyssa, who is a pharmacy resident.

She picked up Korean BBQ from Cupzilla and her husband was enjoying lobster rolls from the Wicked Lobstah.

“Jake is from Boston, so he’ll take a lobster roll anywhere he can get one,” Alyssa said. “I got two!” Jake said.

The Crew fans in attendance had more to be excited about than churros and funnel cakes. The club has resumed full-team trainings in preparation for the MLS is Back tournament in Orlando, which begins July 8. Group stage games will count toward 2020 MLS season standings, and the MLS will soon announce plans for the remainder of the regular season, which is expected to feature games in home markets.

And despite the outbreak of COVID-19, the Crew said construction of its new downtown stadium remains on track for a July 2021 opening.

Crew season ticket holders Jenni Hammar and Kyle Stallings, wearing black and yellow Crew attire, came out to support the club, pick up some food, and enjoy the event. They said they are excited to sit down in the new stadium next season, and plan to watch upcoming summer games on TV.

Mark Vuchenich, a season ticket holder who organized to keep the Crew in Columbus as a leader with the group Save the Crew, said he hopes the season restart is not premature, given that Florida is experiencing a record numbers of new cases. “I don’t know if we’re rushing it or not, especially in Florida. D.C. United just had a player test positive which is concerning, but yes, I’m also of course excited to watch the games,” he said. “We’ve gotten our fair share of looks at the new stadium, and it’s going to be awesome, so we’re super stoked about that.”