GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — If you've ever wondered why so many food trucks have popped up in Grand Rapids, we may have the reason for you.
Three years ago, during the pandemic, the MSU Extension, which offers community education resources, started up a free online program called "How to Start a Food Truck Business."
The program has seen remarkable responses from the community and is about to be offered in both English and Spanish due to demand.
Plus— food trucks are fun, and no one knows that better than Gilma Delacruz, the owner of El Caribe.
“Being in a food truck, I’m traveling, going city by city. Every event is unique,” Delacruz said.
The restaurants on wheels are more than just part of Grand Rapids culture— they're a $1.5 billion a year industry in the United States.
When Grand Rapids Food Truck Association President Rock Dandeneau started his truck, Pressed For Time, back in 2014— he was one of just six trucks operating in city limits. Now, there are 34 food trucks part of the association, and 44 total local licensed operators in GR.
"Grand Rapids has seen overwhelming responses with trucks being licensed with a Grand Rapids permit,” Dandeneau said.
The Grand Rapids Food Truck Association worked with the MSU Extension, along with the Kent County Health Department, GROW and Prep Space to create the program.
“About 400 people have started the course. Not everybody wants to finish. It’s an online, free, self-paced course,” Extension Educator Kendra Wills said.
The course takes about ten hours, and is about to grow to serve more of the Grand Rapids community.
You see, for years, Delacruz has been helping Spanish speakers learn the ropes of food truck ownership.
“Unfortunately, the health department doesn’t have the Spanish version of the food truck application, so I’ve been able to navigate that with a lot of community members that are interested in becoming part of the food truck association, or the food truck group in Grand Rapids,” Delacruz said.
While the license with the Health Department will remain in English only, "How to Start a Food Truck Business" is being translated to Spanish, by people like Paola Mendivil with GROW Business.
“Having the program bilingual, in Spanish, has helped a lot of our Latino community to be able to access information, the education, the guidance and resources for them to obtain a food truck here in the city,” Mendivil said.
Because the fun of food trucks is for everyone, regardless of whether English is your first language.
“Especially because in our Latino-American cultures, it’s like, open up your garage, pull up tables and there you go, that’s your restaurant. Unfortunately, that’s not the case here. So, we have the guidance, from the health department, from the city. They need to be aware of that,” Mendivil said.
The program is expected to be finished being translated into Spanish sometime in August.
