IT’S reunion, wedding,
party and the all-
important political
campaign season. For
anyone who wants to host a
get-together but not be the
one to prepare the food,
what are the options?
Besides catering and
delivery, another popular
choice is to hire one or
more food trucks, also
called mobile food units.
A food truck by defini-tion
is a large, motorized
vehicle equipped with
facilities for cooking and
selling food. They can be a
self-contained truck, truck
and trailer, or even a food
cart service.
Large or small, this is an
industry serving an esti-mated
2.5 billion people
every day.
These vendors are a
major component of the
local street fairs including
Wilmington’s Azalea Festi-val
and the N.C. 4th of
A Food Truck
Primer
how to book a
mobile food unit
By Pat Bradford
July Festival in Southport.
You’ve also seen food
trucks on street corners or well-traveled locations selling everything
from tacos to burgers to steak kabobs. Of course, there are tantalizing
food truck rodeo events all summer long.
It’s said that food trucks have a lower start up and lower overhead
cost than a sit-down restaurant, but this depends on the truck and
its equipment and the menu the chef chooses to serve.
Another growing use of food trucks is by establishments to meet
their alcoholic beverage control (ABC) food requirement without
having the cost of an onsite restaurant. This substantially increases
the demand, so sound advice for anyone who wants to hire a food
truck is to get started immediately; there is a big demand and that
limits options.
“Due to the high demand, the early bird gets the worm,” says
Amanda Yannotti who operates Nana’s Main Ingredient.
There are some things to consider before engaging one or more
food trucks to park on your property or at your business and serve
patrons or friends.
30 april 2022
WBM
First, does your neighbor-hood
or business allow them?
Yannotti’s truck is
attached to Sarah’s Kitchen
in Ocean Isle Beach. Her
range is 200-250 miles.
Serving fish tacos, fresh
fried flounder and pork
chop sandwiches, Yannotti
goes to corporate and
nonprofit events and can
typically be found in South-port
for the Independence
Day celebration. She also
handles bookings for other
mobile food vendors.
Her first advice: “If
you are in a community,
contact the HOA to be
sure this is approved for
your neighborhood, and
check with the neighbors.”
Health departments in
each county approve and
regulate food trucks. In this
area the mobile food units
must be attached to a fixed
kitchen.
Each has permitting,
inspections, a food rating
and so on.
“They have to have
their permit number posted in their truck and their food sanita-tion
grade. They also have to post their SERV Safe Certification,”
Yannotti says.
This proper handling of food and training certificate lets custom-ers
know they’ve been tested in important details like what tempera-ture
to keep meat and how long seafood can sit out.
“Also look for the employee health policy in place, letting you
know no one on board is sick,” Yannotti says.
It helps to know who to call. In Brunswick County it is Melissa
Lombardi at the Health Department, but it’s the Department of
Environmental Health in Pender County (Dana Houser) and New
Hanover County (Alicia Pickett).
These agencies can provide a current list of permitted trucks. This
is actually faster and more accurate than searching online or going
drive-a-bout. Trucks come and go in the fluid marketplace we live
in. Some work seasonally. Others have day jobs and run their truck
just on weekends.