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This study considers the motivations of food truck owners and prospective owners in Bangkok during a difficult period both locally and globally. Plans for Bangkok’s future development were opaque. Inflation was rising rapidly, particularly food and energy costs critical to the industry. COVID-19 continued throughout the research. The aim was to stress-test motivation and commitment within the industry. The study asked participants what motivates them through qualitative and quantitative techniques, the former subject to thematic content analysis. Further, there was discussion with stakeholders and observation. Stakeholders particularly included training providers in the industry. Vendors requested more help so they could sustain themselves and prosper in the industry. Food trucks were of interest because of the relatively casual labour that found a place during COVID-19, although the number of trucks had declined before the pandemic. The study found that food truckers are still highly motivated and eager to help shape Bangkok’s food truck industry going forward and, thereby, the urban landscape and economy of the city. Demotivating factors suggested by the participants themselves focused on murky city planning, which became a major element in the study. Clearly, a transparent path forward must be negotiated between relevant stakeholders in determining the future development of the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines whether growth in the food truck sector in the United States harms restaurants, as restaurateurs and their allies often claim. Using 12 years of nationwide data in a dynamic panel data analysis, we explore whether more food trucks in a county in one year equates to fewer restaurants in the same county in the following year. Results indicate the number of food trucks in one year is not significantly related to fewer restaurants in the next year. However, the number of food trucks in one year is positively – and significantly – related to the number of restaurants in the same year. For every additional food truck in a county, we would expect to see about three additional restaurants. We provide some possible reasons for these findings and conclude restrictions on food trucks are likely unnecessary and perhaps even economically unproductive. Policymakers may find such results informative when considering the adoption of new regulations governing food vendors. Researchers may find the results helpful when creating new studies on how food vendors affect neighborhoods or the extent to which the vending and brick-and-mortar sectors are complementary or competitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The food truck industry has seen substantial expansion in the past few years. Mobile service flexibility, low capital expenditure and overhead costs are some of the reasons for making it a popular venture choice to enter the hospitality industry. It is important for these mobile vendors to discover locations with high demand and purchase capacity, while facing low competition from competing eateries. A novel spatio-temporal multi-objective optimization approach, developed using a metaheuristic algorithm based on the principles of coalitional game theory, has been presented in this paper for allocating optimal retail locations in a spatio-temporal competitive multi-agent environment. Multi-agent competition has been modeled using a number of socio-economic parameters to better emulate the dynamic spatio-temporal behavior of urban crowds and buying power. The proposed algorithm has shown to solve the problem more effectively than existing combinatorial optimization algorithms. Moreover, the proposed approach shows how coalitional game theory can produce a set of Pareto optimal solutions for multi-objective optimization problems involving competitive multi-agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Street food outlets are characterised by poor microbiological quality of the food and poor hygiene practices that pose a risk to consumer health. The aim of the study was to evaluate the hygiene of surfaces in food trucks (FT) using the reference method together with alternatives such as PetrifilmTM and the bioluminescence method. TVC, S. aureus, Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli, L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp. were assessed. The material for the study consisted of swabs and prints taken from five surfaces (refrigeration, knife, cutting board, serving board, and working board) in 20 food trucks in Poland. In 13 food trucks, the visual assessment of hygiene was very good or good, but in 6 FTs, TVC was found to exceed log 3 CFU/100 cm2 on various surfaces. The assessment of surface hygiene using various methods in the food trucks did not demonstrate the substitutability of culture methods. PetrifilmTM tests were shown to be a convenient and reliable tool for the monitoring of mobile catering hygiene. No correlation was found between the subjective visual method and the measurement of adenosine 5-triphosphate. In order to reduce the risk of food infections caused by bacteria in food trucks, it is important to introduce detailed requirements for the hygiene practices used in food trucks, including techniques for monitoring the cleanliness of surfaces coming into contact with food, in particular cutting boards and work surfaces. Efforts should be focused on introducing mandatory, certified training for food truck personnel in the field of microbiological hazards, appropriate methods of hygienisation, and hygiene monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Street food’s contribution to tourism and destination promotion is quite well established. While there is an emergence of a novel type of street food stakeholders, food truckers, little is known about their potential contribution to food tourism and food heritagemaking. This research investigates how food trucks contribute to heritage-making and innovation in Malaysian foodways through host-guest interactions. Particularly, this study looks at the dimensions of food system, culinary space, and consumption patterns at food truck parks. A qualitative study was conducted through observations at TAPAK (a food truck park) and semi-structured interviews with the Tourism Selangor Board, Kuala Lumpur Food Truck Entrepreneur Association (KLFTEA), TAPAK, and a selection of food truckers in the Klang Valley. The findings highlight that food trucks in Ampang and Cheras promote a culture of lepak defined as “sitting outdoor in a laidback manner in an innovative atmosphere while enjoying food”. Host-guest interactions at food truck parks lead to heritage-making of the lepak and street hawker culture as the study participants view them as a component of the Malaysian food culture. These interactions together with the spatial mobility of food truckers encourage innovations in the cooking and serving of food. Findings also highlight that promotions of local food culture and social interactions via the lepak culture to guests by food truckers could be supported further by tourism institutions, food truck associations, and TAPAK through training programs for food truck operators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of qualitative attributes on the construction of the image of food truck services, perceived by consumers at a tourist event in the city of Santa Maria in Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). Methodology: The research involved an exploratory qualitative stage from 26 food truck consumers to identify the attributes, subsidizing with primary variables the second stage of the image measurement research, characterized as a descriptive and quantitative research, applied to 150 consumers who had meals in food trucks at a tourist event. In the data analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation and exploratory factor analysis were used. Results: The image results were positive for 61.4% of consumers. The survey also revealed a moderate and positive correlation in the image of attributes in relation to satisfaction and loyalty with food truck services at the tourist event. Academic contribution: The study corroborates and expands the influence that quality attributes exert on the formation of the provider's image in fast food services. Two theoretical factors were also identified with attributes (variables) that influence the image of the service, called main service and supplementary service. Practical contribution: The image of food trucks has a small advantage in the attributes related to the image of easy access, products offered and price, which must be used and transmitted by managers of this type of business in their advertising and consumer advertising campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Street food has been promoted by the City of Helsinki as a new urban culture that is believed to enhance the image of the city. While fixed stall vending in market squares is as old as the city itself, food truck vending is a new phenomenon in Helsinki. In lieu of celebrating the emergence of this new urban culture, this article aims to make visible the struggles that food truck vendors are encountering and at the same time, explore factors that determine how these vendors operate and exist. In particular, it considers the types and effects of land tenure; the regulatory framework; the elements of urban form; and the environment and the demographics of the area, including who the vendors are and the types of food that they sell, as key factors. The results demonstrate that the struggles of food truck vendors in Helsinki stem from the permit system that grants the vendors the right to use designated municipal land for vending but does not guarantee them secured vending space. Also, the vendors must obtain water and electricity by themselves. The City of Helsinki neither places a ceiling on the number of permits given to food truck vendors nor requires a mix of food types sold in each vending area. Therefore, food truck vendors must compete for vending space and customers. This article argues that the City of Helsinki overlooks the diverse interests and needs of street food vendors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A partir do processo de regulamentação da atividade de comércio de alimentos e bebidas por food trucks na cidade de Curitiba/PR (Brasil), o artigo apresenta uma análise das práticas de poder entre diferentes atores institucionais (entidades do setor gastronômico, órgãos e secretarias municipais) envolvidos no processo. Para tanto, propõe-se uma abordagem especialmente a partir da Teoria das Práticas. Argumenta-se que as legislações restritivas impostas a atividade dos food trucks resultam sobretudo do conflito de interesses entre os seus proprietários e os de restaurantes fixos. Analisamos como as entidades de classe do setor gastronômico valem-se de sua influência política junto às secretarias e órgãos municipais, a fim de garantir o protagonismo dos segmentos que representam. Concluímos que as estratégias engendradas pelas entidades de classe dos estabelecimentos fixos, dificultam ou inviabilizam a atividade dos food trucks. Exemplos disso são (1) a fixação da distância mínima que os food trucks devem manter de feiras gastronômicas e turísticas, bem como de outros espaços fixos do comer e, (2) as vagas de estacionamento licitadas, forçando os proprietários de food trucks a operarem em áreas inviáveis do ponto de vista estrutural, econômico e de segurança. Em contrapartida, os proprietários desses veículos “navegam”, exercendo sua capacidade de poder, nas lacunas deixadas pelas normas oficiais, que tiveram consequências impremeditadas pelas entidades de classe.

Street food outlets are characterised by poor microbiological quality of the food and poor hygiene practices that pose a risk to consumer health. The aim of the study was to evaluate the hygiene of surfaces in food trucks (FT) using the reference method together with alternatives such as PetrifilmTM and the bioluminescence method. TVC, S. aureus, Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli, L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp. were assessed. The material for the study consisted of swabs and prints taken from five surfaces (refrigeration, knife, cutting board, serving board, and working board) in 20 food trucks in Poland. In 13 food trucks, the visual assessment of hygiene was very good or good, but in 6 FTs, TVC was found to exceed log 3 CFU/100 cm2 on various surfaces. The assessment of surface hygiene using various methods in the food trucks did not demonstrate the substitutability of culture methods. PetrifilmTM tests were shown to be a convenient and reliable tool for the monitoring of mobile catering hygiene. No correlation was found between the subjective visual method and the measurement of adenosine 5-triphosphate. In order to reduce the risk of food infections caused by bacteria in food trucks, it is important to introduce detailed requirements for the hygiene practices used in food trucks, including techniques for monitoring the cleanliness of surfaces coming into contact with food, in particular cutting boards and work surfaces. Efforts should be focused on introducing mandatory, certified training for food truck personnel in the field of microbiological hazards, appropriate methods of hygienisation, and hygiene monitoring.

The greatest challenge for tourist destinations is to make themselves unique, to bet on cultural identity, with ethical values and sustainability, and to be successful over time. This is of particular interest in sun and beach tourism areas. Otherwise, in recent years, seasonal food and leisure markets have undergone significant growth as a strategy to promote regional authenticity and participation in local communities. The management of this ephemeral food markets tend to be associated to social sustainability, with a focus on issues such as the welfare of the local population; the conservation of cultural heritage; community participation in the development and planning of tourism; and health, hygiene and safety. This paper analyzes the relevance of these social sustainability matters to La Santa Market, a summer food and leisure event located in a beach and sun town in La Costa Brava (Catalonia). Using non-probability purposive sampling, the qualitative methodology is based on semi-structured interviews with 20 different stakeholders in this event. Secondary data on the economic situation and "grey" literature on this market are also used. The results reveal constant, positive involvement of the local community and private organizations in enhancing the La Santa Market experience, which is now an essential item on their summer agendas. This paper contributes to the literature acknowledging the potential of summer food markets to boost the economic and social sustainability of a coastal community. The results are useful for helping public and private sectors in the region to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of the role of local food products at summer markets to thus reinforce their authenticity and sociocultural value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Food away from home (FAFH) in the US is associated with adverse health outcomes, and food dollars spent on FAFH continues to increase. FAFH studies have typically focused on restaurants and carryout establishments, but mobile food vendors – popularly known in the US as food trucks – have become more numerous and are an understudied segment of FAFH. The objective of this study was to assess mobile food vendors, their attitudes toward health and nutrition, and the foods they serve. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of 41 mobile food vendors in Michigan, US. The survey contained questions about food and nutrition attitudes, such as barriers to putting healthy items on menus and perceived agreement with healthy food preparation practices. Participants were classified into a healthy and a less healthy attitude group based on whether they believed healthy menu items could be successful or not. In addition, participant menus were collected and analyzed according to whether menu items were healthy, moderately healthy, or unhealthy. Descriptive, univariate, and bivariate analyses were conducted. Results Two-thirds of the participants felt that healthy menu items could be successful, and yet taste and value were the most important menu item success factors, each rated as important by 100% of the participants. Low consumer demand was the biggest barrier to putting healthy items on the menu (76%) whereas lack of chef interest (29%) and need for special training (24%) were the smallest. 72% of the vendors offered at least one healthy menu item, but only 20% of all reviewed menu items were healthy overall. There was no difference in the proportion of menu items that were healthy when comparing those with healthy attitudes (23% of menu items healthy) to those less healthy attitudes (17% of menu items healthy, p = 0.349). Conclusions Mobile food vendors had positive views about putting healthy items on menus. However, a low proportion of menu items were classified as healthy. This suggests that mobile food vendors are promising potential public health partners in improving the health profile of FAFH, but that education of vendors is needed to ensure the success of healthier items.

We undertook this study knowing that for people throughout the Midwest who live in low-income urban neighborhoods, finding and affording healthy foods continues to be a problem. People with less money are not only forced to spend it on food, but have so limited options for avoiding purchase of foods with high levels of fat, salt, and sugar. A review of the literature shows that very little is known about how mobile food trucks can increase availability and affordability of healthy foods in low-income neighborhoods in the United States. We compared municipal codes regulating mobile food truck operators and evaluated the impact on cities in the Midwest for encouraging a 'culture of health.' We analyzed six Midwest metropolitan areas with the highest proportion of minorities who lived below the poverty level and had mobile food trucks selling provisions in their neighborhoods. We found that developing more incentives for mobile food truck operators to sell healthier food options can contribute to improving health outcomes in low-income neighborhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why, after years of restrictive regulation of street vending, and food vending in particular, have cities across North America welcomed new food carts and trucks? In this article I draw on a case study of Vancouver, Canada, to demonstrate the important effect of ideas about food on the regulatory and policy changes that have allowed food carts and trucks to proliferate. In particular, new cultural discourses have imbued food with a multivalent goodness. This goodness is understood to have the capacity to do good in the city by bringing good urban places into being. While these discourses favour the tastes of the privileged, ideas about 'good' food expand beyond the 'gourmet' to embrace health, environment, economy, cultural diversity and creativity, as well as community building, local identity and visions of vibrant, shared public spaces. The proliferation of discourses about 'good food' has produced a potent set of cultural ideas that animates popular and policy discussions about street food in the city; in Vancouver, these ideas provided the impetus to push for regulatory change and generated consensus around new, less restrictive regulation of food vending on streets and sidewalks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feeling mighty enough to attend the Colorado Medieval Festival in The Savage Woods? If so, the festival's dynamic organizers have created an equally dynamic event with live music, magical acts, [...]

Objective: To examine the feasibility of taste testing and point-of-purchase prompting to promote healthier food choices at a food truck event. Design: A pre-/post-study was conducted where food trucks provided samples of healthy food items to patrons and implemented point-of-purchase prompting (promotional signage; verbal cues). Implementation fidelity, acceptability and initial effectiveness were assessed via observation, patron surveys and sales data. A linear mixed model with a random effect for subject (food truck) and fixed effect for time point (baseline, intervention and post-intervention) was used to assess changes in relative sales of promoted healthy items as a percentage of food items sold. Setting: Weekly food truck event in Buffalo, New York. Participants: Seven food trucks; 179 patrons. Results: Implementation fidelity data illustrated that all food trucks complied with manualised procedures. Approximately one-third of surveyed patrons accepted a healthy sample, with the majority rating the sample positively. There was no main effect of time when examining changes in relative sales of promoted healthy items across all periods (P = 0·32); however, effect sizes representing changes between individual time points are consistent with an increase from baseline to intervention (d = 0·51), which was maintained through post-intervention (d = 0·03). The change from baseline to post-intervention corresponded to a medium effect size (d = 0·55). Conclusions: Findings generally support the feasibility of implementing taste testing and point-of-purchase prompting to increase the selection of healthy food items from food trucks; implications for future research in this novel setting are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food trucks have been circulating in São Paulo since 2013 and their owners demand to sell updated and « differentiated » versions of that traditional street foods that can be found in the city. This article will explore that in addition to taking their products to specific zones of the city, promoting and emphasizing its symbolic stratification, food trucks also bring to the streets one of the symbols of excellence that, until them, was only found inside restaurants: their chefs and their links with the field of gastronomy.

This study examines customers' food truck patronage intention based on the theory of planned behavior with an additional path from subjective norm to attitude and an additional variable; past behavior. The data were collected from actual and potential food truck customers in the United States, whose age is 18 years or older, by employing Amazon Mechanical Turk as a sampling frame. The data were analyzed using a two-step approach of structural equation modeling. The study's results indicate that the hypothesized model can explain customers' intention formation of eating at a food truck well. Based on these findings, theoretical and managerial implications are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Food trucks can be a potential vehicle of clinically relevant E. coli and Salmonella. • Neither of the sites (residential or touristic) under study reached 100% adequacy for hygiene or sanitary conditions. • The main problems were poor hygienic conditions of equipment and utensils. • Another important problem was the misuse of gloves. • DNA prevalence of E. coli and Salmonella enterica spp., was identified in both raw and cooked samples. There is limited research on food safety practices of street foods, particularly food trucks in developed countries. Given this gap, this study explores the safety and sanitation status of food trucks in the highly developed tourist destination of Orlando, Florida, in the United States. A sample of 30 raw and cooked ready-to-eat foods was collected from 24 food trucks located in residential and touristic sites located in Orlando and then held for microbiological analyses (E. coli and Salmonella enterica spp.) to determine pathogen populations of the final products. In addition to lab analyses for coliform bacteria, food safety practices of vendors were evaluated. Although developed countries are believed to have strict safety and quality measures in place, our study results reveal that food prepared in and sold from food trucks can be potential vehicles of clinically relevant E. coli and Salmonella carrying intestinal pathogenic virulence factors or antibiotic resistance genes, which might create a public health hazard or more specifically foodborne illnesses and outbreak. To minimize foodborne illnesses and infection risks, food inspections and monitoring processes should be carefully revised by municipal, county, and state health departments. This is one of the first studies to explore safety of food truck products in the context of a developed country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gourmet food trucks (GFTs) have emerged as a new and unique restaurant segment with attributes of service similar to quick service restaurants and attributes of food quality similar to fine dining restaurants. Despite their popularity, little research exists on attributes of GFTs associated with customer satisfaction. This study investigated traditional restaurant attributes, including food quality, service quality, ambiance (physical environment), price/value, convenience, and brand personality, and their relationship to customer satisfaction in GFTs. Results indicated that price/value, service quality, physical environment, and brand personality had a significant positive relationship with customer satisfaction, while interestingly, food quality and convenience did not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reviews current food safety regulations of food trucks and discusses possible inspection challenges and reasons for gaps between food safety regulations and practices. To be able to assess current food regulations at the state level, the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) was selected and their current materials and documents, publicly available on the DOH website, were briefly examined. This paper highlights possible reasons for safety risks and gaps between theory and application. Food regulations, inspection challenges, mobility of trucks, vendors' personal hygiene, undocumented illnesses, temperature violations, and unlicensed trucks can be listed as potential gaps and safety risks. Regardless of the level of strict inspection facilities offered to the vendors, there are still incomplete and unsatisfactory results displayed in the county health department (CHD) webpages as open data. This review article shows that even though the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and local health departments control safety regulations, street food operations still face great challenges and public health issues in Florida, as well as in many states in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study of the operations of Food trucks in Pune, the authors have attempted to review in detail the food truck scenario in the city. Their inception, operations are studied in detail. A food truck is a large vehicle equipped to cook and sell food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell frozen or pre-packaged food; others have on-board kitchens and prepare food from scratch. Sandwiches, hamburgers, French fries, and other regional fast food fare is common. In recent years, associated with the pop-up restaurant phenomenon, food trucks offering gourmet cuisine and a variety of specialties and ethnic menus, have become particularly popular. Food trucks, along with portable food booths and food carts, are on the front line of the street food industry that serves an estimated 2.5 billion people every day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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