Food Trucks Make Event Dining Fun
How to Have a Food Truck at Your Event
Food trucks are all the culinary rage these days, and having one at your event is a great way to introduce global flavors to your attendees. But how do you go about getting a food truck to serve your event?
Everyone needs to eat, and finding ways to change up the menu for an event can be tough, especially when you have a wide variety of tastes to appease. Food trucks offer a fantastic solution to this problem
Plan for Your Food Truck
Talk to Your Venue
Every venue's rules differ, and will sometimes change, so it's important to make sure that you have the all-clear from your venue before making deposits with a vendor, even if you've worked with that venue before. They may have a list of preferred vendors that they work with, or they may not allow food trucks. Talking to your venue also will allow you to plan where the best location for your food truck will be at the venue - is it best suited to the parking lot? Can you pull up to a patio or alongside a ballroom? Trucks need a space of at least 10-feet in width by approximately 30-feet in length, on flat ground, with an area for customers to stand while ordering. Talking to the venue is the best way to make these plans.
A few other points to note for planning where your food truck will be: Food truck operators need access to a restroom (within 500 feet), when serving for longer than 1 hour, per Washington state food code and King county health permit requirements. Food trucks are also required to have their own trash receptacle.
Catering or Cash?
Are you planning on providing food for your guests, or simply having a food truck available for guests to purchase their own food? Knowing this will help when it comes time to book your truck. The average food truck needs a sales minimum of ($800-$1,000), and/or at least 60-customers per 3-4 hr. service, just to cover their time and costs. This expense minimum may vary depending on the cuisine type and the location of service. Some food trucks may require you to place a deposit for a minimum amount to ensure their costs are covered, depending on the details of your event. Many food trucks have recently experienced unprecedented shortages of food, supplies, equipment, and qualified staff. And, costs to operate a food truck have skyrocketed, so please keep that in mind when negotiating with these hard-working small business owners.
Finding a Food Truck
Once you've settled on a location and a pricing structure, the next step is finding your food truck. The Washington State Food Truck Association keeps a list of member food trucks who are permitted to work in King County, which is where Seattle Southside is located. Additionally, you can contact the team at Seattle Southside who can connect you with Culinex, a comissary kitchen where many food trucks located in our region operate from. If you have a specific food truck in mind already, contacting them directly is the fastest way to set up your event. If, however, you need help in selecting a truck, the Washington State Food Truck Association does offer a paid matchmaking service to help connect you with the right food truck for your event.
City-Specific Guidelines
City of SeaTac
For events taking place in the city of SeaTac, the participating food truck must have a business license or endorsement for the city of SeaTac. If you are working with a food truck that has not operated in the city of SeaTac previously, they can find a checklist for all the paperwork needed on the City of SeaTac website.
City of Des Moines
Food trucks operating in the city of Des Moines must have their general city of Des Moines business license, L & I insignia, King County health permit, proof of insurance, and a fire inspection and permit from a regional fire authority dated within the past 12-months. See the document here for a list of participating fire agencies that will be acknowledged by South King Fire.
City of Tukwila
The city of Tukwila, as with the other cities, requires a business license, L&I insignia, health permit, proof of insurance, and a fire inspection. Details on acquiring a city business license can be found here.
Take a Food Truck Field Trip
If circumstances don't allow you to have a food truck at your venue, you can always take a field trip to find one of our many local food trucks. StreetFoodFinder is a fantastic resource for finding food trucks in the region, both for regular events like the City of Des Moines' Tasty Tuesdays and for random pop-ups. You can also visit a parked food truck like Tacos El Patron in SeaTac or Cubanos on Wheels in Des Moines. Whether you visit a food truck or have a food truck visit you, get a taste of Seattle Southside and the many flavors that make up our incredible region.
Need help finding the perfect food truck, or coordinating just the right vendors for your event? Reach out to our meetings experts - we'd be happy to help!
