Burgers, brats and hot dogs could help pay for new playground equipment at Diekroeger Park, if you buy them Saturday at the Strassenbash community festival.

Parks Director Josh Cole said he hopes to turn a challenge into an opportunity, after a major food vendor for the festival backed out on short notice.

“They unfortunately had to bow out this year, pretty much at the last minute,” Cole said. In their place, he is ordering more than 400 food items and related supplies to sell. “There was always good food (at Strassenbash), so I figured, why don’t we try to offer that? And it’s a good way for the parks department to try to raise a little more funding for improvements.”

Cole said the money is primarily aimed at one day upgrading the playground at Diekroeger Park, replacing outdated equipment with new offerings.

Previous Fall Festivals in the park have raised more than $5,000 for that purpose, said city Treasurer Stephanie Hampton.

When enough funding is gathered together, Cole said city officials would likely seek input from community members about what kinds of updates they would like to see at the playground.

Selling food directly on a large scale will be a new experiment for the parks department, which normally has volunteer organizations or sponsors acting as food vendors. Cole requested the city government approve spending a max of $800 to buy 120 burgers, 120 brats, 200 hot dogs, buns, sides, condiments and disposable supplies. He added that he hopes the cost is well below that number.

Volunteers from the Wright City Park Board, along with Cole, will grill and serve the food.

“One of the big things that helped out is Coca-Cola donated a bunch of product to us,” Cole added, saying the drinks would be provided for free along with food purchases.

The success of the fundraiser will depend on how many people turn out for Strassenbash, but Cole said other recent festivals have shown people are ready to get out for activities.

Before approving spending for the food, Wright City aldermen asked how the situation would be handled if the sale didn’t break even.

“That’s the price of doing business,” answered Alderman Michelle Heiliger, Ward 1. “Any program you run in the park, you run that risk. With soccer you can lose money.

“We’re really trying to revitalize Strassenbash,” Heiliger added. “I think as a city, we need to have a presence in that.”

Aldermen also clarified that the money to purchase the food is coming from previous fundraising events, not from the city’s tax revenue.