Business plan for Target Market and Competition, the topic is( Food Truck )

and trailers, which provide great opportunities for fl ex- ibility, catering and fl ashy marketing.

But as diners’ tastes evolve, technology improves and mistakes are made, even the best food trucks have room for improve- ment. FoodService Director talked to mobile-dining vet- erans from across the coun- try about how their trucks have evolved, their surpris- ing features and whether they think food trucks are just a phase.

Geoff Holle

District manager for Aramark, Pfl ugerville Independent School District, Pfl ugerville, Texas

Food trailers: Talon Taco Co. and Connally Chow House

Why food trailers were right for the district: Projections during the summer of 2014 showed the Austin, Texas, suburb’s Hendrickson High School growing by 400 students that fall, Holle says. “The district needed a solution, because obviously time wouldn’t be friendly for

climate of food trucks in the Austin area.”

How the trailers have evolved: “One of the things we didn’t think of is, in May, it gets really hot in Texas, and you’ve got staff in a silver metal box,” Holle says. “We wanted to make sure we enhanced or enlarged our AC capacity.” He encourages employees to report back on menus at commercial restaurants to keep abreast of trends.

How they’ll be used in the future: While Talon Taco and Chow House currently are parked in a stationary location, once new dining facilities are completed, Holle plans to “take the trailers where the volume is.”

Whether food trucks have staying power: “I fi eld a call once a week from someone in the country wanting to know what we’re doing with the food trailers,” he says. “Based on the fl exibility and solutions a truck provides, I think they will remain popular.”

Dennis Pierce

Executive director of dining services, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Conn.

Food trucks: UConn Dairy Bar Ice Cream Truck and Food for Thought

Why food trucks were right for the university: After a failed food truck attempt near a campus construction site in the mid-’90s, UConn launched an ice cream truck, an extension of its campus dairy bar that’s popular at catering events, about two years ago, Pierce says. Food for Thought, which serves full meals, is regularly parked at the center of campus but also served as a supplemental

dining location this spring when a dining hall was closed for expansion.

How the trucks have evolved: Instead of sticking with tried and true favorites, Food for Thought features a rotating themed menu: tacos one semester (including an infamous version featuring crickets as a topping), burgers the next. For the summer, two types of lobster rolls are on off er, as well as hot dogs, sandwiches and a beet and kale burger.

On the move versus single location: Before investing in the trucks, Pierce and his team imagined parking outside

of popular bars at night or doing the rounds on campus and tweeting the trucks’ locations. But that plan was a major fl op. “We found out that with the ice cream truck, you’re scheduling it because there’s an event going on,” he says. While students can follow @UCDairyBarTruck on Twitter for pop-up appearances, the truck is parked in a regular spot on Thursdays and Fridays.

Whether food trucks have staying power: Pierce cited the trucks’ mobility and fl exible use as catering kitchens as reasons trucks will keep rolling

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FOOTPRINT

UConn’s Dairy Bar Ice Cream Truck turned the school’s popular dairy bar into a mobile experience.

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FOOTPRINT

on the UConn campus. “Keeping it fresh, keeping it new and changing the menu keeps people engaged,” he says. “I think when you get down to a QSR in the student union, you’re not going to be doing that.”

Brandy Dreibelbis

Executive chef/district manager, Boulder Valley School

District, Boulder, Colo.

Food truck: The Munchie Machine

Why a food truck was right for the district: Because Boulder Valley’s high schools allow students to travel off - campus during lunch, only about 15% to 20% were choosing to eat in the cafeteria, Dreibelbis says. The Munchie Machine, which serves an entirely separate menu and accepts meal plans, travels to a diff erent campus daily, capturing anywhere from 60 to 110 students who otherwise would be dining elsewhere. Outside catering events help sustain the cost of the truck throughout the school year.

How the truck has evolved: One of the biggest learning experiences,

Dreibelbis says, has been the business side, from staffi ng to catering to licensing. “I think it takes a really unique person to work the food truck,” she says. “Someone with excellent customer service skills, who can work the POS system, drive the truck (it’s 27 feet long) and who can be a short-order cook.”

Whether food trucks have staying power: “I think at Boulder Valley, we’re only just in the beginning,” she says. “It’s all about, can the food trucks change with the times, can they change with the trends, can they market to whatever the target market is?”

Bertrand Weber

Director of culinary and nutrition services, Minneapolis Public Schools

Food truck: MPS Food Truck

Why a food truck was right for the district: Born from a partnership with Hunger-Free Minnesota, the district initially was looking to grow its summer feeding program. But while retrofi tting an old school bus for delivery, Weber made sure to add a hitch

and a grill, certain that other uses would be found for the truck. “It quickly became a focus within the district and community as a way to reach the community,” he says.

How the truck has evolved: MPS has made the truck available for school events and fi eld trips; when a group of up to 300 students travels, the truck will drive to their destination and serve.

Serving up trends: While most meals served from the MPS truck are prepped at the district’s nutrition center or a high school kitchen, Weber has capitalized on two big menu trends: bowls and global foods. Collaborations with local restaurants have yielded recipes such as chicken curry and a Caribbean- style bowl with vegetables and brown rice.

Whether food trucks have staying power: Weber says he sees the trucks increasingly being used for summer feeding, and believes that will continue regardless of whether the overall mobile food trend sticks.

W hen Dawn Aubrey, associate director of housing

for dining at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, decided to roll out another food truck this fall, she knew exactly which lessons she would take with her from her fi rst mobile operation. “We have learned so much from the fi rst truck,” Au brey says through chuckles.

Austin Independent School District in Texas also is growing its fl eet with a district-wide Vietnamese food truck, launched after the stationary Nacho Average Food Truck increased breakfast and lunch participation at its Anderson High School. Learn from these FSDs’ mobile adventures to keep trucking without a hitch.

GET CUSTOMERS ON BOARD

Taking a collaborative approach to branding the truck was really important to Nacho Average Food Truck’s success, says Anneliese Tanner, director of Austin ISD nutrition and food services. The student body determined the truck’s name and theme, and an art student designed the truck’s wrapping. “Getting [students] involved in the process created a lot of ownership and buzz,” Tanner says.

THINK BEYOND THE TRUCK

If you want the fl exibility

to go anywhere, trash receptacles are a necessity, says Aubrey. Her trucks also come equipped with brightly colored tables, fold- out chairs and a canopy to provide customers some shade in the hot summer months—but she advises that operators not forget to close the canopy before moving to the next stop.

HYPE IT UP

Before Tanner rolled out her truck, she live-tweeted coverage of the staff ’s training day, posting photos of the principal eating street tacos and having fun with the operation. “We got, I don’t know how many retweets and likes for our tweets,” she says.

LESS IS MORE ROOM

Ice is superfl uous, says Aubrey. Limited space means planning ahead, so prechill drinks to avoid bulky ice bags. Her less- is-more philosophy also extends to menu planning. “You want to do fi ve things really well,” she says. “You want some crossover ingredients and to make sure your equipment works across all the items on the menu.” For example, Aubrey’s trucks use naan, which takes up less space than buns, for sandwiches.

PUMP UP THE JAMS

A food truck needs tunes to draw in customers and pump up staff , Aubrey says. Her crew just uses satellite radio stations to set the vibe. —Alaina Lancaster

ROLLING LIKE A PRO Turn up the tunes—and other lessons

from operators’ fi rst food trucks.

Minneapolis Public Schools’ truck partners with local restaurants for creative bowl recipes.

MARKETING

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