Question: I’m really unclear about the food truck laws in Toronto. Can you explain this more clearly?
Answer: The confusion is warranted as the issue of food trucks and street food have been kind of up in the air for almost seven years in Toronto. But there’s hope for food truck owners, food vendors and their fans as the city is going to get friendlier for folks interested in this type of food service, if everything goes according to plan.
Toronto may finally be ready to cut food trucks some slack on the city’s streets — making the permit process easier and allowing these gourmet food vendors on wheels to stay in place to offer their services for longer, according to The Globe and Mail.
If things run smoothly, it looks like by summer, the creation of these new street food bylaws will fall in place and folks in the food truck business will enjoy a fruitful season selling gourmet goodness to people in Toronto.
It’s been tough for food trucks in Toronto but the change looks hopeful
Though it seems most people have been all for the awesome food trucks trend, getting the city to accommodate it through re-working their laws has been a challenge.
“The city has been heavily criticized in the past for having strict regulations on how food trucks can operate,” reports the Globe and Mail, “Food vendors are currently regulated by six separate, yet overlapping, bylaws, some of which date back to 1998.”
But the Toronto Star reported this week that this may be the summer mobile trucks — with their delicious, diverse variety of foods — will thrive as city staff work to help the city get more food truck friendly and allow for them to operate without hassle.
“Food trucks aren’t allowed on most city streets, and they can’t sell on private lots for more than 10 minutes. (That rule is definitely gone, said councillor McMahon),” says The Star about the current food truck situation.
Food truck enthusiasts and the public will have to wait for the specifics though— which won’t happen until around March 18 when the Licensing and Standards committee meets, according to The Star.
But the future seems hopeful as it looks like food trucks will eventually have designated spots in our city. Of course, the city will make sure the parked location of these mobile food vendors won’t interfere with necessary parking situations or competing restaurants.
Food trucks are delicious and green
While this is great news for food truck owners — this wouldn’t be a BizEnergy story if we didn’t bring up how energy-efficient and green this trend could be. We’ll keep you posted on the progress of these new city bylaws and the fate of food trucks in Toronto.
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