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Food truck

Large motorized car or trailer equipped to cook, prepare, serve, and/or sell food

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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 serve 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. By 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 44,119 people working in jobs related to food trucks, up 907% since 2000. 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.

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