The first Food Truck Fest will be on Saturday, March 9, 2013, kicking off a new season of events at the Riverwalk Events Plaza. Nestled under the east side of the Indiantown Road bridge on Coastal Way, the Events Plaza is a great place to sit and enjoy the views of the Intracoastal Waterway, while you listen to music and enjoy some great food and drinks. BYOC (Bring Your Own Chair).  There will be some tables and chairs, but it is recommended that you bring your own folding chairs in order to get the best seat!  Parking is free in the parking garage to the south of the plaza.

This FREE event is from 5-10pm, and will feature live music from local bands. A herd of gourmet food trucks will be lined up and waiting to serve you a wide selection of food and drinks for purchase, from your favorite comfort foods to exotic gourmet tidbits. Vote for your favorite truck in the People’s Choice Award.

We are looking for local businesses to donate prizes for a raffle and also a prize for the Food Truck award.  Contact me at 741-2365 if your business would like to donate a service or item/basket for this event.

http://www.jupiter.fl.us/index.aspx?nid=675

Terry Scanlon serves up some eats at the corner of Bank and Laurier in downtown Ottawa. (DARREN BROWN/Ottawa Sun)

The City of Ottawa is granting 20 new street food vendor licences mid-January — but only if the applicants successfully jump through some pretty ludicrous hoops.

These hoops include annual fees paid to the city ranging from $1,400 to $6,800, depending on whether it’s a truck or cart.

There’s also the various certificates: For propane tanks, for health inspections and the controversial and unnecessary food handler certificate. The font of the cart’s name is also regulated — it must be at least 7 cm.

But none of this excessive regulation should be a surprise. It’s unfortunately the way we’re heading as a society. No, it’s the moral angle that makes this process so condescending and anti-business.

“The goal of this initiative is to increase the diversity of food offered on City streets,” reads the application. In other words, the city is mandating affirmative action for food.

They’ve convened a committee of food experts as well as public health officials to pore over the applications. The applicants will be judged on their business plan, including their marketing and finances. No business should have to be judged by government on such matters.

But the best part of this nonsense is 40% of the grading is based on the applicant’s explanation of “how the menu/concept reflects the diversity of our City and will contribute to Ottawa’s street food scene.”

Who knew we had a street food “scene”?

Apparently, the committee fancies themselves the jury on a food network reality show.

There are inherent problems with this approach. What if within a few months you realize your type of food just isn’t selling? Private business would overhaul the menu. In this case, that wouldn’t be allowed, lest you disrupt the delicate ecosystem of food diversity.

Pardon the naivete, but aren’t the people operating the food carts and the people buying from them in the best position to decide what sells and what doesn’t? Isn’t that called supply and demand?

But what if, the big government crowd cries, there are suddenly 20 shawarma carts on the streets?! Well, then there are 20 shawarma carts. Some will thrive, others won’t and they’ll either close down or change their menus. Or maybe they’ll all thrive.

Gauge demand

Can City Hall say with certainty that they have gauged the demand for shawarmas? Can they say with certainty it is even their place to gauge the demand for shawarmas?

Even their own literature acknowledges the rules as restrictions. “Existing vendors and spaces will remain with no restrictions on menus,” the guidelines say. Good for those already around. Not so good for people taking a gamble with their own time and money.

Toronto’s A La Cart program was a well-documented failure precisely for these reasons.

Many councillors and the mayor have expressed their commitment to removing red tape and making Ottawa business friendly. Taxpayers fork over considerable cash for ventures like Invest Ottawa. But clearly they need to go back to basics.

When the city takes something as simple as opening a food cart and increases the financial and regulatory burden on the proprietor and also takes a swipe at their entrepreneurial spirit by nitpicking their marketing and products, you know you’ve got problems.

http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/11/27/affirmative-action-for-street-food-waged-as-ottawa-city-hall-seeks-greater-diversity-among-vendors

The Sweet Republic ’59 Chevy – photo credit Lauren Saria

There’s been a certain sweet-slangin’ retro Chevy absent on the streets of late.

And if, like us, you’ve been wondering when Sweet Republic and their converted 1959 ice cream automobile will be back in action, the answer (unfortunately) is not all that soon.

Several weeks ago, Sweet Republic co-owner Jan Wichayanuparp got into an accident in which the vehicle flipped over on the freeway. While no one was hurt, it meant the end for Sweet Republic’s signature orange and white ice cream trucking days. (At least in that particular truck.)

Sweet Republic began using the truck about two years after opening their brick and mortar location in 2008. For many, the vehicle embodied the company’s funky, retro style and even though the Chevy pre-dated air conditioning, it was named one of TLC’s Best Food Ever Fab Food Carts in 2010.

Wichayanuparp says they plan to replace the vehicle but that they “don’t want to settle for something with less personality.”

The first time around it took the owners two years to get the ’59 vehicle on the road – months to find the right car, about a year to get it up and running and several more months to convert the vehicle into a working ice cream truck.

“We hope the process will go faster this time around,” Wichayanuparp says.

Within the street food community, the incident raised questions regarding insurance for food trucks and other specialty vehicles.

Read more… http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bella/2012/09/sweet_republics_59_chevy_retir.php#Comments

Not all insurance is built the same!  Insure My Food Truck has designed an insurance program specifically for gourmet food trucks.   We are passionate about food and insurance. We realize that often times mobile food vendors are frowned upon by insurance companies and not understood by their insurance agents.  This can result in the wrong coverage that can put you at risk.  It also can result in higher premiums because they do not understand the nature of your business.  Insure My Food Truck is changing the game.  We work with a national A rated insurance carrier that knows the industry is primarily comprised of high quality trucks, food and people.  We have spent months working with underwriters and fine tuning this program for the best trucks in class.  We are happy to roll out our preferred coverage and rates because you deserve it!

Some highlights of our program include*:

• Auto Liability of 1 million per accident.
• General Liability of 1 million per occurrence and 2 million aggregate.
• Blanket Additional Insured Endorsement (no charge for your certificates of insurance).
• Replacement cost property coverage for your contents and kitchen modifications.
• Loss of business income due to covered losses.
• Equipment Breakdown coverage equal to your property insurance limit.
• Spoilage coverage due to power failure or breakdown.
• Coverage for your (often costly) vehicle wrap.
• Easy billing plan with NO financing fees.

The premiums are extremely competitive and the coverage is extremely comprehensive.  Please visit our website for more details or contact us anytime to discuss if you qualify for this program. There is also valuable information on our blog about properly protecting and insuring your business.

Denny Christner, CIC

Chief Truck Protector

Insure My Food Truck

(800)647-2025

www.insuremyfoodtruck.com

@InsureMyFoodTrk

Not many agents/brokers write catering truck insurance as they don’t have a contract with companies that will write that type of coverage. There’s a certain type of knowledge needed to write the risk with catering truck insurance properly. There are basically (2) categories of operators:

They are, hot trucks and Mobile Food Preparation Vehicles (MFPV), which allow food to be prepared as customers order, and cold trucks, Industrial Catering Vehicles (ICV), which sell only prepackaged foods.

The hot trucks have at least a driver, (which is usually the taxpayer), and a cook, who may be a family member. The cold trucks in most instances, only need a driver since it is a self-service vehicle, however, they are not limited to just the driver.

The average cost of the trucks is approximately between $50,000 – $100,000. The trucks may be owned by one individual, serving as the owner/operator, or several individuals may own a fleet of trucks and lease them to various individuals to operate; or they can be individually owned and then leased to another individual to operate.

The drivers/owners of food trucks are linked to specific commissaries stocking and storing their trucks overnight. The commissary is a wholesale supermarket where the drivers are able to buy food and supplies in bulk. The trucks are assigned to a commissary and are required to park their vehicles there overnight for washing, unloading, and morning loading of food.

The drivers purchase their goods for sale at the commissary, although you may discover that outside purchases were also made. The Department of Health Services have very strict requirements with regards to the purchase of food for sale. Food must be obtained from an approved vendor, approved facility, or approved commissary.

The owners and operators of the vehicles have to meet certain requirements for various governmental agencies. The owners are required to register their vehicles with the Health Department. All vehicles must have a valid County Health Permit.

Vehicles are usually inspected annually in order to renew their license by the Health Department. The license, showing the name of the owner, must be on display in the vehicle or on the persons of the driver.

Selling any goods, wares, or merchandise on public streets and sidewalks on foot or using a pack, stand, or push cart is illegal without the approval of the Department of Building and Safety.

There are also stringent health codes that must be followed and enforced to operate safely and within the guidlines of the dept of health in order to be able to operate the food business. State laws also require catering truck insurance.

http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/?p=22629

]]> http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2011/10/catering-truck-insurance-2/feed/ 0 http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2011/08/catering-truck-insurance/ http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2011/08/catering-truck-insurance/#comments Sun, 28 Aug 2011 16:09:22 +0000 MobileFoodNews.com http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/?p=20698 By STAFF | MobileFoodNews.com

A catering truck may be a small business van or cargo van, or a larger boxed and refrigerated truck. Depending upon your company’s needs and business structure, you may own several different types of catering trucks. Buying or leasing any sized catering truck for your company is expensive. If you had to repair damage to one of your trucks from a wind or hail storm, would it cause your company deep financial stress? If your truck is involved in an auto accident, could you afford to pay all of the associated bills and expenses that arise?

Your catering truck in an investment in your company and your commercial auto insurance is an investment in your truck. Business auto insurance can protect you from losses to the truck itself and from financial losses when the truck causes an accident. Here are the types of commercial auto insurance you’ll need for your catering truck.

Liability Insurance – Liability insurance protects your company from having to pay other people’s bills when your catering truck causes or is at fault for an auto accident. Liability insurance is required coverage in most parts of the United States, and generally pays for two important areas:

• Bodily Injury – When a person is injured in an auto accident, bodily injury protection pays for the bills that are caused due to those injuries. A person who suffers from a broken leg due to an auto accident for example, will likely require immediate hospital care. If your catering truck caused the accident, the bodily injury portion of your liability insurance will pay for that hospital care. It will also pay related physician’s follow-up fees, prescription medication costs, rehabilitation, losses in wages from time off work, pain and suffering and funeral expenses.

• Property Damage – When property is damaged in an auto accident, the property damage portion of your liability insurance will pay to have that property replaced or repaired. If your catering truck strikes a parked vehicle for example, and crumples the side door, the property damage portion of your insurance policy will pay to have that door replaced or repaired.

When you set up liability insurance for your catering truck you will need to select a coverage amount and type as well as an insurance deductible. The deductible is the amount that you will pay out of pocket when there is an auto accident with your truck. If the accident expenses do not exceed your deductible then the insurance company will not have to cover any costs. Select a deductible amount that you can easily afford at any given time. If your deductible is too high then you may have difficulty paying it when an accident arises. If it is too low it can cause your insurance premiums to be too high.

The amount and type of liability policy you choose determines how much your insurance company will pay for each accident that arises. A single claim policy of $150,000 will pay a maximum of $150,000 for the total combined damages – property and bodily – created in a given accident. A split claim policy sets maximum payouts for individual use and total accident. For example, if you select a split claim policy of $30,000/$125,000/$50,000 then your policy will pay a maximum of $30,000 for any individual person’s bodily injuries in one accident. It will limit the payout for all bodily injuries combined to $125,000 per accident. The last number defines the maximum amount the policy will pay for property damages, in this case $50,000.

Medical Payments – Medical payments coverage protects the driver of your catering truck and any passengers who were riding with him at the time of the accident. If the driver or any passengers require medical care after an auto accident, this insurance will pay those medical costs. This coverage is a no-fault insurance, which means it pays benefits regardless of who was at fault for the auto accident. It isn’t available in all areas however. Call one of our licensed representatives to determine whether this insurance option is available for you.

Physical Damage Insurance – Physical damages insurance protects your catering truck. This is important commercial insurance to carry when your company leases its trucks. If the truck still has a lien or outstanding bank loan on it, this is also important coverage. If your truck is destroyed while under lease or with an outstanding loan, your company may have to pay off the contract out of its own funds. By carrying physical damages insurance however, the insurance coverage can pay for the cost of payoff or replacement instead.

• Comprehensive Physical Damage Protection – Comprehensive damage insurance protects you from most of the day-to-day potential hazards and risks. It does not apply to damages and loss caused by your truck overturning, or caused by collision events. It protects you from losses caused by theft for example, and expensive repairs caused by vandalism. It also pays for repairs when a hail storm damages the truck or a tree falls onto it in a storm.

• Collision Damage Protection – Collision damage protection is specifically designed to take care of you and your truck when it overturns or is involved in a collision event. If your catering truck turns into a customer’s driveway too sharply for example, hits a curb and overturns, the collision damage coverage will pay for the repairs.

• Specified Peril (CAC) – Fire and Theft with Combined Additional Coverage (CAC) insurance is also known as specified peril coverage. This commercial insurance protects you from specific hazards and risks that are not collision or roll over related. Coverage applies only for those risks listed on your insurance policy however.

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist – If your catering truck is involved in an accident with another vehicle that does not carry insurance, your company may have to pay the repair bills to get your truck back into working shape. Likewise, if the accident is caused by someone who carries insurance but it is not enough to cover all of the damages caused to your truck, you may have to pick up the difference. Uninsured and underinsured motorist protection is designed to prevent you from having to deal with that financial impact. With this coverage, your truck is protected in the event that the at fault driver does not have any insurance, or does not have enough to pay for all of your truck’s repairs. Like liability insurance, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage  takes care of two primary areas:

• Bodily Injury – As covered with Liability Insurance.

• Property Damage – As covered with Liability Insurance.

• Collision Deductible Waiver (CDW) – A collision deductible waiver (CDW) is designed to prevent you from having to pay your insurance deductible when you file an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim. Since you or your driver was not at fault for the accident, you should not have to pay the standard deductible. As long as your company carries uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage for your catering truck, you can get a CDW and not have to pay the deductible.

Other Important Commercial Auto Insurance for your catering truck includes:

• Rental – Rental insurance pays for a temporary replacement truck when yours is out of service due to being in the repair shop after an accident.

• Towing – If your catering truck is disabled in an accident or other means, towing insurance pays for the cost of towing your truck to the repair shop.

• Cargo – The cargo your company carries for your or your client’s business is valuable on its own. Protect it from loss and destruction with commercial cargo insurance.

• Accessories – The accessories you have installed in your cargo truck can be protected with extra insurance as well. Expensive communications radios, GPS navigation units and other accessories can be protected from loss with this option on your commercial auto insurance policy.

Bill Morrissey & David Fhima, Owners of the St. Paul Grill, told the newspaper they like the food-truck idea, but want more guidelines and accountability.

Who could hate a food truck? Easy: The guy who owns the restaurant the truck is parked in front of.

Food trucks have proliferated in St. Paul this summer, and some restaurant owners aren’t happy, the Pioneer Press reports. They complain that the new rivals hog nearby parking meters, take away business and aren’t obeying city rules.

Longtime restaurant owners Bill Morrissey (of the St. Paul Grill ) and David Fhima told the newspaper they like the food-truck idea, but want more guidelines and accountability.

The PiPress also notes the difficulty of the restaurateurs’ situation. Criticizing food trucks for stealing business from rent-paying eateries is like bashing Santa Claus for elf-labor violations. Sure, it’s probably true, but nobody wants to hear about it.

St. Paul is hardly alone. Cities like Portland, Ore., Atlanta and Los Angeles are considering new regulations on food trucks to help combat problems on traffic, smog and other issues.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/morning_roundup/2011/08/st-paul-restaurateurs-grouse-about.html

Before franchise restaurants, gubernational fast-food chains and Wal-Mart ruled the world, people often purchased goods and services from savvy merchants who roamed the countryside hawking their goods from the back of a wagon.

Mobile entrepreneurs still exist, but two local mobile businesses are finding that St. Augustine and St. Johns County  aren’t rolling out the welcome mat for their new enterprises.

Mother Fletcher’s and Sprocket’s of St. Augustine are food trucks — not silver-lined “roach coaches,” as mobile food stands are often called, but fully-equipped mobile restaurants. Mother Fletcher’s specializes in grain-fed filet mignon steak sandwiches and teriyaki wings.

A national trend
Food trucks began receiving national attention after one called Kogi started tweeting its stops outside Los Angeles nightclubs a couple of years ago. Now food trucks across the country utilize social media to post their specials and locations.

In Charleston, owners have initiated a Food Truck Federation to help the trucks work together and ease operating restrictions.

There was even a show on Food Network called The Great Food Truck Race last summer.

But St. Augustine is lagging behind in this trend — forcing food-trucks to park on private property so they can’t roam around as in other cities.

Go north, new trend
In St. Johns County, mobile vendors can operate if they have a temporary use license, which costs $100. It allows venders to do their thing for three days, twice a month and limits operation to private property.

Gourmet food truck Mother Fletcher’s, owned and operated by St. Augustine residents Danny Forkasdi and his wife Dorothy, is beginning to feel the effects of only being permitted to work six days a month.

“As it stands, they will not let me work,” Danny said, taking a break from setting up shop at the Pecan Park Flea Market in Jacksonville. “Even though I have a business license, even though I’ve got all my licenses and inspections, I still can’t work in St. Johns County.”

Forkasdi and his wife don’t know how much longer they can hold out before they’ll have to move somewhere that’s more accepting of food trucks.

Before the Forkasdi’s got into the food truck biz, Danny worked for 32 years for a manufacturing company in South Carolina. After the downsized, Danny lost his job. So the couple decided to move to St. Augustine last year, after falling in love with the city 10 years prior. But Danny couldn’t find work in what he is trained to do. Cooking is Dorothy’s passion, so they tried opening up a brick and mortar restaurant, but it proved to be impractical.

Then they read about the food truck revolution and thought it was only a matter of time before North Florida embraced it. So they souped up a retired Frito Lay truck and Mother Fletcher’s was born — named after a now-closed club in Myrtle Beach.

Sprocket’s Food Truck in St. Augustine wants to go mobile, too.

It’s a joint venture with Ken Hinkle, owner of Sprocket’s Bike Shop, which is where the truck remains stationary until the city allows it to go mobile.

Derek Martin runs the truck, which specializes in unique, gourmet sandwiches.

“We want to go downtown and serve people and do the typical food truck thing,” Hinkle said. “But that has proven to be very difficult in St. Augustine.”

Danny Forkasdi believes the City of St. Augustine can benefit from food trucks.

“We can pay our taxes just like a brick and mortar can,” he said. “We just want to work and pay our taxes in St. Johns County, not Duval.”
Currently, Mother Fletcher’s drives to Pecan Park in Northwest Jacksonville during weekends. Flea Markets, festivals and other special events allow vendors that meet licensing and inspections qualifications to operate.

Not welcome here
Sprocket’s Food Truck operates inside the city limits of St. Augustine. The city has different rules than the county, and Sprocket’s has the kind of permits that allow it to sell food on private property. Since it remains stationary on Sprocket’s Bike Shop’s property, it can vend food there, but it cannot go mobile.

Mark Knight, planning and building director for St. Augustine, said outside sales in the Historic District and food vending on streets’ right of way is prohibited. However, Knight said vendors can get a license that allows them to operate from location to location with permission from the property owner.

It’s a start, but St. Augustine’s food trucks want to go mobile and set up in vacant parking lots, offering their food to anyone who stops by. But the city says no.

You can’t open a business in a parking lot, Knight said, because then the vendors become “their own business.” Knight said if vendors want a vacant piece of property to sell food on, they will be limited by certain requirements, such as the requirement to have a bathroom within 100 feet and the requirement that the space be Americans with Disabilities Act compliant.

Sprocket’s owner Martin said he wants the city to understand what food trucks are trying to do. And at the same time, food-truck vendors are trying to understand what the city is saying they can’t do.

Like when Sprocket’s wanted to paint the outside of its truck. Martin said when the truck first got registered, they wanted to paint it, but the city told them, “You can’t advertise on a mobile truck.”

If vendors want to discuss a different approach, Knight said they can attend a development review process meeting.
“We meet every Friday morning, and we can go over the different options that they have,” he said.

Or here — St. Augustine Beach
St. Augustine Beach city manager Max Royle said the city has a long-standing commitment to keeping vendors at bay.

Granting vendors free reign to vend, he said, would cause an influx of vendors and would hinder local restaurant’s business, which pay stationary property tax.

“It would not be fair to them,” Royle said.

Not all the established business owners agree.

Chris Froehlich, general manager at Harry’s in St. Augustine, said most businesses would probably say no to having a mobile vender nearby, but he has an open mind about it.

“It depends on how the city regulates it,” he said, referring to things such as health inspections, paying sales tax, and obtaining appropriate licenses.

Kelly Fitzimondes, a bartender at Harry’s shares the sentiment.

“(T)hey aren’t going to take away from what a restaurant offers,” he said.

Fitzimondes said if a food truck were to park outside Harry’s and offered decent food, he and other employees would eat it.

It’s not that they don’t like the food at Harry’s, Fitzimondes said, it’s that sometimes they want to eat something else, and so do other restaurant’s employees.

“We’re all ordering from each other,” he said, “I think there is plenty of customers to go around.”

They still don’t get it
But Danny Forkasdi said setting up in front of local restaurants is not what Mother Fletcher’s and other food trucks are all about.
“We wouldn’t want to take away from someone else,”  he said.

The Forkasdis said they work to support other entrepreneurs, not take away from them. Mother Fletcher’s buys its meat from Wester’s Choice Meats in St. Augustine.

“You got to try to support the local businesses,” Dorothy Forkasdi said. “Wal-Mart has just about put them all out of business.”
Moreover, Martin doesn’t think food trucks would deter much from the appeal of sit-down dining.

“More than likely, tourists are going to want to go out, sit down, and have a nice dinner,” he said.

County is anti-competition?
Forkasdi said he wonders why the fundamentals of capitalism don’t apply to food trucks.

“What’s McDonald’s going to do when Burger King decides to put up a restaurant right next to them?” he said. “But yet, they can tell us where and where we can’t go?”

The ordinances are simply outdated, he said. Mother Fletcher’s has done all it can do, in terms of licensing and inspections, just like any restaurant would have to, he said.

“The only difference between us and a brick and mortar is our restaurant has wheels,” Dorothy Forkasdi said.

What’s most perplexing, Forkasdi said, is why the county would issue him a license to operate, and then not allow it.

The license, he said, gives him permission to cook and sell food in the county, but it’s not a permanent mobile license. Lindsay Haga, development review director for St. Johns County, said the county has no process to render a permanent mobile-truck vending license, aside from a temporary use permit.

“We need to have a discussion about what the rules are,” Haga said.

She said food truck vendors could start building a proposal by using the temporary use permits to do what they want to do and then take it from there.

“So it wouldn’t be a long-term solution,” she said. “[But] could they dip their toe in the water and try it out.”

For now, it looks like the food-truck revolution will remain on hold here.

“Our goal is to prove that you can have good restaurant quality food come out of a truck, fast,” Martin said. “And I know that’s what Mother Fletcher’s is trying to do, too.”

But ask Danny Forkasdi what his  goal is and the answer you get is even simpler.

“Hell, I don’t know,” he said. “Mama just wants to cook.”

http://staugustineunderground.net/2011/staugustine/news/florida/business-un-friendly/1995/

Austin, Texas — Whorton Insurance Services, the parent company of MFVInsurance.com, is pleased to announce the launch of the first national insurance program to serve the insurance needs of the mobile food vending industry, a new industry formed by the rapid expansion of mobile food trucks in metropolitan areas throughout the country.

Because of this rapid growth, fueled by an ever-increasing appetite and demand for gourmet food and beverages from mobile vendors, city governments are amending their outdated ordinances to accommodate these operations.  Likewise, the insurance industry was lagging behind and needed to recognize mobile food vendors as a new, emerging distinct marketplace, and that is what MFV Insurance has been able to accomplish.

Through their efforts, as spokespersons for vendors nationally, MFV Insurance received in-house authority from various ‘admitted’ insurance carriers to underwrite, price, bind and provide policy services for this industry as a preferred class of business at highly competitive rates.  MFV Insurance’s goal is to provide insurance and risk management services of the highest quality to meet the needs of their customers in this unique arena.  MFV Insurance is striving to make insurance as accessible and affordable as possible to qualifying vendors.

Mobile food vendors nationwide are now able to protect their livelihood with innovative Property, Liability, Inland Marine, Automobile, Workers Compensation and Excess Liability coverages designed specifically for the mobile food vending industry.

To mobile food vendors, their vehicle, equipment and supplies are their livelihood; protecting their means of support is absolutely vital to them.  However, accidents do happen.  If an unforeseen event were to occur, MFV Insurance understands that they’ll not only be inconvenienced, but that their livelihood will be severely impacted as well.  That is why MFV Insurance has partnered exclusively with national “A” Rated insurance companies known for their financial strength, stability, loss control, risk management and excellent claim services.

The new Mobile Food Vendors Insurance Program, which has been available on a trial basis in California and Texas, will roll out in 29 additional states beginning in May 2011.  Other states will follow based on the demand.  To see if this program is available in your state visit MFV Insurance at mfvinsurance.com.

The program has been designated a Preferred Provider by MobileFoodNews.com.

http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2011/06/1st-national-insurance-program-specifically-for-the-mobile-food-vending-industry/

Image by: Rik Keller

The future of mobile food trucks in Sacramento was discussed Monday night at the first in what will likely be many meetings between mobile food vendors, “brick-and-mortar” restaurateurs, city leaders and advocacy groups.

The meeting, held at The Kitchen restaurant, 2225 Hurley Way, was not open to the public, City Councilman Steve Cohn said Monday morning.

An ordinance limiting food trucks to operating within the city to 30-minute stops has been contested more vehemently lately. The SactoMoFo mobile food festival April 30 drew an estimated 10,000 people, prompting a closer look at the ordinance.

Several gourmet food trucks, including Mini Burger Truck and Wicked ’Wich, have recently begun operating in the area.

Monday’s meeting was a step in that direction.

“It was a productive meeting, and there are some issues we need to address,” City Councilman Darrell Fong said Wednesday. “There’s still a lot more work, and a lot more hurdles to get over, but I think we can make it work.”

Some of the issues raised at the meeting, attended by approximately 30 people, according to Fong, are parking, competition and making sure mobile food vendors are accountable for taxes and permit fees.

“City restaurants are struggling, too,” said Fong, whose brother is a partner in the Mikuni restaurant organization. “Sometimes they fear the competition could put them out of business. But on the other hand, it’s competition that people want, right?”

California Restaurant Association Legislative and Public Affairs Director Daniel Conway was at the meeting as well, and he said it represents an early step in moving away from the conceptual aspect of allowing food trucks to operate more freely in the city toward the reality of it.

The goal of the CRA, which has been around for about 100 years, is to be the voice of restaurants in the state and provide industry information to them, according to its website. Conway said it represents both traditional and mobile restaurants.

“I think, really, the value of Monday night’s meeting was to provide some clarity and better understanding of everyone involved,” he said. “It’s getting more concrete. Mobile operators were there, brick-and-mortar (restaurant) owners were there – a very diverse set of perspectives.”

Conway said he thinks food trucks can coexist with traditional restaurants in the city, and he pointed to other California cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, where food trucks are well-known.

“We have a familiarity with it that hopefully is providing value to this conversation,” he said, adding that much of the recent local information has come from news stories and rumors, which aren’t restaurant-specific or always accurate. “Everyone is striving for a balanced and reasonable approach.”

Compromise, he said, will be a part of any modification to the ordinance.

He said the truly successful food trucks in other cities are typically associated with a brick-and-mortar restaurant in some way, be they owned by one, partnered with one or have aspirations of setting up their own in the future.

“I think there’s a productive conversation that’s started,” Conway said. “I’ve seen it characterized in the press as a food fight, but that’s not the case and doesn’t need to be the case.”

Catherine Enfield, the woman behind the Munchie Musings blog and one of the organizers of the SactoMoFo festival, said the meeting was purely informational and intended to break down how food trucks operate.

“It was to dispel the myths and disinformation about the mobile food industry,” she said. “A truck is just a smaller version of a restaurant. It’s just on wheels.”

Fong said more meetings will be held in the future, likely in four to six weeks, after the city budget process has been completed.

Other council members present were Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn and Kevin McCarty.

Fong described the two-and-a-half-hour meeting, which started at 6 p.m., as “very cordial.”

“We’ll see where this ends up,” he said. “There’s definitely a demand for it.”

http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/51814/First_step_in_food_truck_talks_taken