A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van) or trailer, equipped to cook, prepare, serve, and/or sell food. Some, including
ice cream truck
An ice cream van ( British) or ice cream truck (North American) is a commercial vehicle that serves as a mobile retail outlet for ice cream, usually during the spring and summer. Ice cream vans are often seen parked at public events, or ne ...
s, sell frozen or prepackaged food; others have on-board kitchens and prepare food from scratch, or they heat up food that was prepared in a
brick and mortar
Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...
commercial kitchen. Sandwiches, hamburgers, french fries, and other regional fast food fare is common. By the early 2010s, amid the
pop-up restaurant
A pop-up restaurant is a temporary restaurant. These restaurants often operate from a private home, former factory, existing restaurants or similar space, and during festivals. Various other names have been used to describe the concept of settin ...
phenomenon, food trucks offering gourmet cuisine and a variety of specialties and ethnic menus became particularly popular.
Food trucks may also sell cold beverages such as soda pop and water. Food trucks, along with
food booth A food kiosk or food booth (also food stand, temporary food service facility) is generally a temporary structure used to prepare and sell food to the general public, usually where large groups of people are situated outdoors in a park, at a parade ...
s and
food cart
A food cart is a mobile kitchen set up on the street to prepare and sell street food to passers-by. Food carts are often found in cities worldwide selling food of every kind.
Food carts come in two basic styles. One allows the vendor to sit ...
s, are major components of the
street food
Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...
industry that serves an estimated 2.5 billion people every day.
[ ()]
History
United States
In the United States, the Texas
chuckwagon
A chuckwagon is a type of field kitchen covered wagon historically used for the storage and transportation of food and cooking equipment on the prairies of the United States and Canada. Such wagons formed part of a wagon train of settlers or fed ...
is a precursor to the American food truck. In the later 1800s, herding cattle from the Southwest to markets in the North and East kept cowhands on the trail for months at a time. In 1866, the "father of the Texas Panhandle",
Charles Goodnight, a Texas cattle rancher, fitted a sturdy old
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
wagon with interior shelving and drawers, and stocked it with kitchenware, food and medical supplies. Food consisted of dried beans, coffee, cornmeal, greasy cloth-wrapped bacon, salt pork, beef, usually dried or salted, and other easy to preserve food stuffs. The wagon was also stocked with a water barrel and a sling to kindle wood to heat and cook food.
Another early relative of the modern food truck is the lunch wagon, as conceived by food vendor Walter Scott in 1872. Scott cut windows in a small covered wagon, parked it in front of a newspaper office in Providence, Rhode Island, and sold sandwiches, pies and coffee to pressmen and journalists. By the 1880s, former lunch-counter boy, Thomas H. Buckley, was manufacturing lunch wagons in Worcester, Massachusetts. He introduced various models, like the Owl and the White House Cafe, with features that included sinks, refrigerators and cooking stoves, also colored windows and other ornamentation.
Later versions of the food truck were mobile
canteens, which were created in the late 1950s. These mobile
canteens were authorized by the U.S. Army and operated on stateside army bases.
Mobile food trucks, nicknamed "roach coaches" or "gut trucks", have been around for years, serving construction sites, factories, and other
blue-collar
A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...
locations.
In big cities of the U.S. the food truck traditionally provided a means for the on-the-go person to grab a quick bite at a low cost. Food trucks are not only sought out for their affordability but as well for their nostalgia; and their popularity continues to rise.
During the 2010s the economic changes caused by the
Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
, technological factors, and street food being "hip" or "chic" have combined to increase the number of food trucks in the United States.
The construction business was drying up, leading to a surplus of food trucks, and chefs from high-end restaurants were being laid off. For experienced cooks suddenly without work, the food truck seemed a clear choice, and a smaller financial investment than a brick-and-mortar restaurant.
Once more commonplace in American coastal big cities like New York City and Los Angeles, gourmet food trucks are now to be found as well in the suburbs, and in small towns across the country.
[ Published Dec. 2014 ()] Food trucks are also being hired for special events, like weddings, movie shoots, and corporate gatherings, and also to carry advertising promoting companies and brands.
Gourmet trucks
In 2011, ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' noted that food trucks selling pricier food were gaining popularity across the United States, contrary to a common perception that food trucks are typically run-down and found at construction sites. In 2009, ''
New York'' magazine noted that the food truck had "largely transcended its roach-coach classification and is now a respectable venue for aspiring chefs to launch careers."
[ These gourmet trucks' menus run the gamut of ethnic and fusion cuisine. Often focusing on limited but creative dishes at reasonable prices, they offer customers a chance to experience food they otherwise may not. Finding a niche seems to be a path to success for most trucks. While one truck may specialize in outlandish burgers, another may serve only lobster rolls.]
Gourmet food trucks can also offer a unique dining experience. With the rise of millennial
Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000 ...
diners, experiential dining has become more mainstream, driving restaurant and food truck owners to create a unique experience for their customers. As food trucks are mobile, this provides an advantage to gourmet trucks to take their experience anywhere they may please.
Tracking food trucks has been made easy with social media like Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
and Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, where a favorite gourmet truck can be located at any moment, with updates on specials, new menu items and location changes.
Food truck rallies and food truck parks are also growing in popularity in the US. At rallies, people can find their favorite trucks all in one place and as well provide a means for a variety of diverse cultures to come together and find a common ground over a love for food. On August 31, 2013, Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
hosted the world's largest food truck rally, with 99 trucks attending. The Tampa Rally broke its own record by bringing together 121 food trucks in 2014. Chicago Food Truck Festival
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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hosts over 40 trucks each year with 60,000 guests participating over two days in Chicago. And food truck parks, offering permanent locations, are found in urban and suburban areas across the US.
The popularity of food trucks lead to the creation of associations that protect and support their business rights, such as the Philadelphia Mobile Food Association The Philadelphia Mobile Food Association is a trade association representing local mobile food vending businesses in Philadelphia.
History
Co-founders Dan Pennachietti and Andrew Gerson started the Philadelphia Mobile Food Association (PMFA) to pro ...
.
Business and economics
Food trucks are subject to the same range of concerns as other foodservice
The foodservice (US English) or catering (British English) industry includes the businesses, institutions, and companies which prepare meals outside the home. It includes restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, catering operations, and many ...
businesses. They generally require a fixed address to accept delivery of supplies. A commercial kitchen may be needed for food prep. There are a variety of permits to obtain, and a health code to observe. Labor and fuel costs are a significant part of the overhead.
Legal definitions and requirements for food trucks vary widely by country and locality. For example, in Toronto, some of the requirements include business and liability insurance, a Commercial Vehicle Operator's Registration for the truck, permits for each municipality being operated in (downtown, various suburbs), a food handler certificate, appropriate driver's licenses for drivers, assistant's licenses for assistants, and a health inspection.
As the rising number and popularity of food trucks push them into the food mainstream, region by region, problems with local legislators and police reacting to new situations, and pushback from brick-and-mortar restaurants fearing competition, are amongst issues having to be worked through, creating significant business uncertainty. Chicago long held the distinction of being the only city in the United States that did not allow food trucks to cook on board, which required trucks to prepare food in a commercial kitchen, then wrap and label the food and load it into a food warmer. In 2012, under pressure from food truck owners and supporters, including the University of Chicago Law School, regulations were changed to allow on-board cooking, however, controversially, food trucks are required to park 200 feet away from any restaurant, which virtually eliminates busy downtown locations (an example of pushback, restaurant owners lobbying city government).
In the US, specialized food truck outfitters offer comprehensive start-up services that can include concept development, training, and business support, in addition to outfitted trucks. Often, however, it makes more sense for a new operator to lease a truck. In the US, food trucks are a $1.2 billion industry. By 2017, the US food truck industry had surpassed $2.7 billion.
Expansion from a single truck to fleets and retail outlets has proven possible. Los Angeles-based gourmet ice cream
Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...
maker Coolhaus grew from a single truck in 2009 to 11 trucks and carts, two storefronts, and over 2,500 retail partner stores by September 2014.
The libertarian ''Reason
Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...
'' magazine states that in US, cities, food trucks are subject to protectionist
Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
regulations designed to prevent them from competing with brick and mortar
Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...
restaurants. For example, in Chicago, a regulation prevents food trucks "...from selling food within 200 feet of brick-and-mortar restaurants and, hence, prohibit them from operating throughout the city's downtown area", which critics have called an "anti-competitive" rule for food truck operators.
Health concerns
In 1936 the Food Code spread its regulatory umbrella to include food trucks as a result of their introduction to society.
Food trucks have unique health risks compared to regular land-based restaurants when it comes to food safety
Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent food-borne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from t ...
and the prevention of foodborne illness
Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the spoilage of contaminated food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food,
as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease) ...
. Most food trucks do not have access to adequate clean and hot water necessary to wash hands or to rinse off vegetables, as required by most health codes or regulations.
In June 2017, ''The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' reviewed the 2016 city health records and found that food trucks had been cited for violations 200 times, with half of the violations being minor in nature and the other half being serious violations. When compared to fixed location restaurants, the city closed nine of the 96 licensed food trucks in 2016 and closed only two out of 100 restaurants. A majority of the serious violations were related to the lack of water and hand washing. An earlier study showed that Boston food trucks, on average, received 2.68 violations per inspection between 2011 and July 2013, while restaurants received 4.56 citations for violations per inspection. For "critical foodborne violations"—defined by the city as activities that contribute to foodborne illness, such as improper labeling of ingredients—food trucks and restaurants were roughly equivalent, with 0.87 violations per inspection for food trucks, and 0.84 for restaurants..
Around the world
Asia-Pacific
Australia
Food trucks are available across Australia, and are covered as a popular trend in the media. An Australian national online directory, ''Where The Truck'', lists some 500 food trucks. The current number is around 5000 food trucks
Japan
In Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, there are bento (box lunch), ramen, fried chicken, fried bread, pizza, crepes, and ice cream "kitchen cars" (キッチンカー).
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, food trucks started to hit the streets in February 2017.
South Korea
The national government legalized food trucks in South Korea in September 2014 and numbers have continued to climb steadily since then. Many young people are trying to create food trucks, and a wider range of products is becoming available. However, it is not possible to operate food trucks everywhere. In the case of Korea, there is only a limited number of places designated by each local government.
Belgium
Chip trucks have long been a staple of the Belgian countryside. The Belgian Food Truck Association is lobbying to legalize food trucks on the street. Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
was the first European city to propose locations for food trucks at football matches. Belgium also holds the Brussels Food Truck Festival, the largest of its kind in Europe, every year in May.
Brazil
In Brazil, food trucks started with trucks that served food during carnival time and at the end of soccer games, sporting events and concerts. However, when trucks began to serve gourmet food (with higher prices), food trucks were no longer associated with popular food, and it became trendy to eat street food from food trucks. Nowadays they are all over Brazil, workplaces, schools, colleges, office buildings, industrial parks, workshops: that is, any place where there is potential demand for regular meals or snacks.
Canada
In Canada, food trucks, also commonly known as ''cantines'' (French for cafeteria) in Quebec, are present across the country, serving a wide variety of cuisines, including anything from grilled cheese sandwiches
A grilled cheese (sometimes known as a toasted sandwich or cheese toastie) is a hot sandwich typically prepared by heating one or more slices of cheese between slices of bread, with a cooking fat such as butter, on a frying pan, griddle, or sandw ...
to Mexican.
France
Pizza trucks have been common in Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
since the 1960s or earlier, and food trucks are common at outdoor markets, but American-style trucks selling restaurant-quality food first appeared in Paris in 2012. Their owners needed to obtain permission from four separate government agencies, including the Prefecture of Police In France, a Prefecture of Police (french: Préfecture de police), headed by the Prefect of Police (''Préfet de police''), is an agency of the Government of France under the administration of the Ministry of the Interior. Part of the National Pol ...
, but the trucks' offerings—including tacos and hamburgers—have reportedly been very popular.
Ireland
Compared to other countries, food trucks in Ireland are a relatively new addition to the Irish food industry. All food trucks in Ireland must be registered with the Health Service Executive (HSE) and are inspected by Environmental Health Officers (EHO).
Mexico
Although street food in Mexico is unregulated, food trucks are becoming increasingly popular as of 2013 and owners have created an association to pursue the professionalization and expansion of this commercial sector. In addition to the food trucks catering on the streets, there are regular bazaars organized to introduce their products to the consumers.
In response to this popularity the Local Authorities have issued a series of special regulations to incorporate them to legal schemes that would help to order this commerce form. as new food truck business model emerged, some local bodybuilders begin to make food trucks from new vehicles from major car-makers.
United Kingdom
With the advent of motorised transport during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, food trucks came into common use. Mobile canteens were used in almost all theatres of war to boost morale and provide food as a result of the successful tea lady
A tea lady provides drinks in an office, factory, hospital, or other place of work. The role under this name began in Britain during World War II, and continues in the National Health Service today. It used to be a wide-spread occupation for wo ...
experiment.
Food trucks today are sometimes known as snack vans or burger vans, and can be found on nearly all major trunk roads at the side of the road or in areas that have a large pedestrian population, such as at village fetes or town centers. These vans can specialise in myriad different food types, such as donuts, hamburgers, chili and chips, as well as ethnic food. Some people prefer to stop at snack vans when travelling, due to the low price, rather than stop at a motorway service station where prices can be extremely high.
With the British street food industry growing 20% year-on-year, the increase in popularity of having a mobile food van at events has been substantial.
File:Snack van, British Museum north entrance - geograph.org.uk - 699189.jpg, A snack van at the British Museum in London
File:Food truck in London.jpg, A food truck in London that purveys hot dogs, crêpes, and coffee
File:Citroën HY food van.jpg, A Citroën HY
Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...
food van in Norfolk 2016
File:Hong Kong Food Truck(Beef & Liberty) 07-10-2017.jpg, A food truck in Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
File:Vendedora foodtruck.jpg, Foodtruck vendor in Monterrey, Mexico
In popular culture
* Both ''The Great Food Truck Race
''The Great Food Truck Race'' is a reality television and cooking series that originally aired on August 15, 2010, on Food Network, with Tyler Florence as the host. Billed as a cross between Cannonball Run and Top Chef
''Top Chef'' is an Ame ...
'' (Food Network
Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...
) and ''Eat St.
''Eat St.'' is a Canadian reality television series produced by Paperny Entertainment that airs on Food Network Canada and Cooking Channel. It is hosted by Canadian comedian James Cunningham tours North American food trucks. To accompany the ...
'' (Cooking Channel
Cooking Channel is an American basic cable channel owned by Food Network, a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (69%) and Nexstar Media Group (31%). The channel is a spin-off of Food Network, broadcasting ...
) feature food trucks and mobile food carts from all over the U.S.
* On Food Network Canada, '' Food Truck Face Off'' has four teams battle for the grand prize, use of a customized food truck for one year. Also on the network, an episode of ''Kid in a Candy Store'' looks behind the scenes at a gourmet dessert truck.
* In the 2014 American comedy-drama film ''Chef
A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...
'', a high-end chef has a kitchen meltdown and rediscovers his passion for cooking while driving and operating a simple food truck across America.
* During Donald Trump's 2016 campaign for president, Marco Gutierrez, founder of a group known as " Latinos for Trump" warned in an MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
interview that there would be " taco trucks on every corner" if Mexican immigration to the U.S. continued. This triggered widespread derision and a Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
meme "#TacoTrucksOnEveryCorner."
See also
* Campervan
A camper van, also referred to as a camper, caravanette, motor caravan or RV (recreational vehicle) in North America, is a self-propelled vehicle that provides both transport and sleeping accommodation. The term describes vans that have been fitt ...
* Concession stand
A concession stand (American English, Canadian English), snack kiosk or snack bar (British English, Irish English) is a place where patrons can purchase snacks or food at a cinema, amusement park, zoo, aquarium, circus, fair, stadium, b ...
* Diner
* Doner kebab
Doner kebab (, ; tr, döner or , ), also spelled döner kebab, is a type of kebab, made of meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie. Seasoned meat stacked in the shape of an inverted cone is turned slowly on the rotisserie, next to a vertical co ...
* Food truck rally
A food truck rally (also called a food truck festival, food truck rodeo,(9 June 2013) ''Raleigh News and Observer''(3 September 2012) ''Raleigh News and Observer'' food truck gathering, or similar names) is an event where a group of food trucks ...
* List of food trucks
A food truck, mobile kitchen, mobile canteen, roach coach, gut truck, catering truck, or (in Austin, Texas) food trailer, is a mobile venue that transports and sells food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food; othe ...
* Mobile catering
Mobile catering is the business of selling prepared food from some sort of vehicle. It is a feature of urban culture in many countries. Mobile catering can be performed using food trucks, trailers, carts and food stands. Many types of foods may b ...
* Motorhome
A motorhome (or motor coach) is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle (RV) which offers mobile living accommodation.
Features
Motorhomes usually have sleeping spaces for two to eight people. Each sleeping space is either fixed or conv ...
* Taco stand
A taco stand or taquería is a food stall, food cart or restaurant that specializes in tacos and other Mexican dishes. The food is typically prepared quickly and tends to be inexpensive. Many various ingredients may be used, and various taco s ...
* Yatai (food cart)
References
External links
*
Food Truck Nation
report on regulations in the U.S.
{{Authority control
Catering
Fast food
*
Innovation
Snack foods
Street food
Restaurants by type
Retail formats