Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Catering Trucks

When people hear the word “catering,” the first thing that comes to their mind is an individual or a company that provides the food for different occasions such as wedding receptions and parties. However, catering covers a wide range of people who are in the food business, including those that sell food in parks and other public places via a “catering” truck.

Types of catering trucks

There are two types of catering trucks; one of these types is the Mobile Food Preparation Vehicle (MFPV), where food can be prepared as customers order. Usually, these catering trucks offer various types of sandwiches and other food that can easily be prepared. These trucks are usually driven by a driver and are staffed with a cook.

The other type is the Industrial Catering Vehicle (ICV), which are trucks that sell only pre-packaged food. Usually, these trucks are only staffed with a driver given that it is a self-service vehicle. However, some operators of these trucks also provide another person, who can help customers.

Cost and insurance

The usual price of these kinds of trucks range from $50,000 to $100,000 depending on the equipment that are installed on the vehicle. Given the high costs of these trucks, operators and owners of these trucks need to protect their investment through insurance, which are now available from a number of insurance companies.

Permits

Apart from getting insurance, the owners of these trucks also need to meet a number of requirements from different government agencies so that they could operate the truck. One of these government agencies includes the Health Department, who would inspect the truck annually for licensing purposes. This is because these trucks must be able to pass certain health standards so that would be allowed to sell food to the public. Lastly, operators also need to get approval from the Department of Building and Safety, as it is the approving agency for the selling of goods on public streets and sidewalks.

The term caterer is not only limited to individuals who provide food for parties, as the term also covers people and companies who sell and serve food in various places. One of these are the catering trucks that we buy our sandwiches and some of our packaged food. For these caterers, the most important equipment that they have are their trucks, which are government sanctioned mini-restaurants” wherein they can sell their food.


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