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Food trucks navigating high gas prices, increased food costs

food trucks
Posted at 11:57 AM, Jul 28, 2022
and last updated 2022-08-05 11:43:40-04

As Americans continue to grapple with high gas prices at the pump, food truck owners and operators across the country are having to navigate rising costs while trying to keep their small businesses running.

"The mobility of it makes it very, very difficult," said Matt Geller with the National Food Truck Association.

With inflation rates hitting 9.1% and the price of gas still above $4.30 nationally, he says food trucks are at a particularly tough crossroads.

"As far as inflation goes it's tough. It's not just the cost of goods that has gone up; in a lot of places, minimum wage has gone up," he added.

But it's not just high gas prices food trucks are contending with, they're also being hit with higher food costs and lower product availability.

Many food truck operators we spoke to for this story told us they've either had to cut back on menu items. Others are cutting back on the number of trips they're taking in hopes of offsetting fuel costs.

"Keeping a restaurant going is tough, but you don't have to do oil changes and make sure your tires are rotated," Geller said.