Do you have a dream of owning your own food truck? Visions of traveling around your city to cook for people in every neighborhood?
It sounds nice, right?
Unfortunately, we have a lot of concerns about the environment right now, and you might be bringing those into your food truck ambitions. How can you live sustainably when your job depends on a heavy truck?
Is a sustainable food truck even possible?
We think so. Keep reading to learn a few changes that you can make to keep your food truck as green as possible.
Adjust Your Menu
If you want a truly sustainable experience, you might need to adjust your menu to fit that mold.
One goal of a sustainable food truck business is to create as little waste as possible. The margins on a food truck are paper-thin already, so it’s not helpful for your wallet or the world to be wasting food and cook time.
If you work your menu around a primary set of ingredients that can be repurposed into several different items, you’ll spend less money and create less waste. This is great for your business and the environment.
Routinely Check on Your Truck
There are a few things that you need to be doing as often as possible when you drive and cook in your truck daily.
Always get your oil checked and your truck inspected on time. This will help you avoid or catch any issues that could be making your vehicle less environmentally-friendly.
It’s also helpful to do pest checks on your checkup days. Pests are terrible for any food business, and in such a small space they can cause a lot of damage.
If you make it part of your routine to look for pests, you’ll catch them early and you might even be able to get rid of them without extra chemicals. If you wait too long, you might need the chemicals. Check into a pest control company (such as Pegasus Pest Control, which has health and safety in mind) to help with this process.
Recycle and Compost
Everyone who cooks frequently should have a compost bin. Compost bins are a great way to turn food waste into nutrient-rich fodder for the environment.
When it comes to your non-compostable waste, use recyclable materials. Also, consider setting a recycling bin outside of your truck to encourage customers to use it.
Consider replacing your single-use plastics with some kind of eco-friendly disposable dinnerware set.
Buy Local
When you’re sourcing ingredients, help the environment, your town, and your network with local goods.
They may cost a little more at first, but you won’t have to deal with pesky packaging and you’ll insert yourself into the network of growers and makers in your city. It’s far better for the planet and your reputation to avoid shipping and just go with the farmers and ranchers right in your area.
A Sustainable Food Truck is Within Your Grasp
If you want a sustainable food truck you can totally make it happen. A few simple changes can take you from an environmental nightmare to a food truck sustainability master.
Bring your awesome food to your neighborhood in a green way. For more posts on going green, check out the rest of our site.
