Food truck

In the United States, the Texas chuckwagon 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.[6] In 1866, the "father of the Texas Panhandle", Charles Goodnight,[7] a Texas cattle rancher, 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, 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.[8][9]

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 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.[10]

In 1936 the Food Code spread its regulatory umbrella to include food trucks as a result of their introduction to society.[11]

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.[12]

Mobile food trucks, nicknamed "roach coaches" or "gut trucks", have been around for years, serving construction sites, factories, and other blue-collar locations.[13] 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.[14]

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.[15][16] 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.[15][17]

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.[18][19][20] 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.[21]

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.

Food trucks in Montreal

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 to Mexican.

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.[50]

In response to this popularity, the local authorities have issued a series of special regulations to incorporate them into legal schemes that would help to regulate this form of commerce. As a new food truck business model emerged, some local bodybuilders begin to make food trucks from new vehicles from major car-makers.

This is currently dealt with at the start of the article.

A mobile cafe in South Bank Parklands, Brisbane

Food trucks are available across Australia, and are covered as a popular trend in the media.[51] An Australian national online directory, Where The Truck, listed around 5000 food trucks in 2020.[52]

In Hong Kong, food trucks started to hit the streets in February 2017.[53]

A food truck in Japan (Subaru Sambar)

In Japan, there are bento (box lunch), ramen, fried chicken, fried bread, pizza, crepes, and ice cream "kitchen cars" (キッチンカー, kichinkā).

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.

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.[54] Brussels 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.[55]

While it is commonly admitted that the first French food trucks ("camions-restaurants" in French even though the word "foodtruck" is used more frequently) appeared in Marseille in the 1960's with trucks selling pizzas, it is proved that it actually appeared for the first time in Paris back in 1924. At the time, Alfred Morain, the "Préfet" (chief of police) of the Seine region decided to develop and spread what they called then "friteries automobiles" (automobile French fries shop, which were then called "Auto-Morain"). This political measure took place in a context of economical crisis following First World War, which led people to lack essential products, including food. Most of the time, these shops sold 185 grams of French fries and fried fish for "1 franc 25" (1,26€ ,1,38$ in 2023). It also was the first time that fish was sold along with fries in France but then again, this took place in a context of promotion of the French fishing business.[56] The arrival of this kind of shops did not go unnoticed: many press articles and political staging took place. In 1925, "Le Petit Inventeur", a newspaper, commented on the success of the "operation" and on the "very interesting prices [of the products]",[57] and, in 1926, Mario (Marius) Roustan, who was the State Under-Secretary dedicated to "public works, ports, merchant marine and fishing" (Sous-Secrétaire d’Etat aux travaux publics, chargé des ports, de la marine marchande et des pêches,), publicised his visit of a "rolling French fries shop" (friterie roulante), which was called "Friterie Auguste"[58] [59]and sold fries and fried fish in Paris. Nowadays, foodtrucks are very popular in France.[60] Their owners need to obtain permission from four separate government agencies, including the Prefecture of Police, most of the trucks' offer tacos, hamburgers, pizzas and you can find specialities in specific regions, like the "galette-saucisses" (sausage within a buckwheat crepe) in Britain or fries in the north.

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).

With the advent of motorised transport during World War II, 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 experiment.[61]

Food trucks today are sometimes known as snack vans or burger vans. They can be found on many major trunk roads at the side of the road or in areas that have a large pedestrian population, such as town centres and events such as village fêtes. These vans can specialise in many different food types, such as doughnuts, 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 stopping at a motorway service station where prices can be extremely high.[62]

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.[63]

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  A snack van at the British Museum in London
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  A food truck in London that sells hot dogs, crêpes, and coffee
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  A Citroën HY food van in Norfolk 2016
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  A food truck in Hong Kong
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  Foodtruck vendor in Monterrey, Mexico