Food truck
A food truck is a large motorized vehicle or trailer equipped to store, transport, cook, prepare, serve and/or sell food.
Some food trucks, such as ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food, but many have on-board kitchens and prepare food from scratch, or they reheat food that was previously prepared in a brick and mortar commercial kitchen. Sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, tacos, pizza, french fries and other typical fast food and finger food staples are common food truck fare, though since the pop-up restaurant phenomenon of the 2010s, food trucks specializing in a wide variety of gourmet, specialty, global, regional, and fusion cuisines have seen growing popularity. Food trucks often also sell or fully specialize in beverages such as soft drink, juice, coffee, tea, and water, as well as treats such as ice cream, pastries, and fried dough.
Historical predecessors of food trucks were horse-drawn chuckwagons and lunch wagons of the 19th century. By the early-to-mid-20th century, trucks and vans were being used both as mobile canteens in the military and as "roach coaches" that traveled to worksites and primarily catered to blue-collar workers. Into the 21st century, economic and cultural shifts surrounding the foodservice industry led to a considerable rise in popularity among customers and food truck operation as a career. Though food trucks primarily developed in the United States, United Kingdom, and France, they have become increasingly popular and more available in other parts of Europe and the Americas, as well as Asia and Oceania.
Food trucks, along with food booths and food carts, are major components of the street food industry that serves an estimated 2.5 billion people daily.
History
United States
In the United States, the Texas chuckwagon is a precursor to the American food truck. In the later 19th century, 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", cattle rancher Charles Goodnight, fitted a sturdy old United States Army 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, dried or salted beef, and other easy-to-preserve foodstuffs. 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", horse-drawn street cars whose night version was known as the "night owl", as conceived by food vendor Walter Scott in 1872 as a "kitchen on wheels". 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 worker 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, cooking stoves, colored windows, and other ornamentation.
In 1936 the Food Code spread its regulatory umbrella to include food trucks as a result of their introduction to society.
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 locations. In big cities, 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 still sought out for nostalgia from this era.
During the 2010s the economic changes caused by the Great Recession, 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 to be 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 suburbs and small towns. Food trucks are also 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 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 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.
Food truck rallies
and food truck parks are also growing in popularity in the United States, wherein multiple food trucks gather in one location, usually in cooperation with each other, with the goal of attracting business through the variety offered. On August 31, 2013, Tampa, Florida 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. The Chicago Food Truck Festival hosts over 40 trucks each year with 60,000 guests participating over two days in Chicago. Food truck parks, offering permanent locations, are found in urban and suburban areas across the US.Business and economics
Food trucks are subject to the same range of concerns as other foodservice businesses. There are a variety of permits to obtain, and a health code to observe. Equipment, 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, 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.
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 maker Coolhaus grew from a single truck in 2009 to 11 trucks and carts, two storefronts, and over 2,500 retail store partners by September 2014.
The libertarian Reason magazine states that in US, cities, food trucks are subject to protectionist regulations designed to prevent them from competing with brick and mortar 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.
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.
Tracking food trucks has been made easy with social media like Facebook and Twitter, where a favorite gourmet truck can be located at any moment, with updates on specials, new menu items and location changes.
As the food truck industry continues to expand in 2025, many vendors are adopting innovative strategies such as modular kitchen design, eco-friendly power systems, and digital ordering to meet the demands of modern urban consumers.
Food safety concerns
Food trucks have unique health risks compared to regular restaurants when it comes to food safety and the prevention of foodborne illness. 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 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.