Middle School Family and Consumer Science (FACS) students had the opportunity to learn about what it takes to operate small business, the grit and tenacity needed in entrepreneurship, and --- of course --- how food ties into this, thanks to the owner of Mike’s Smokin’ Bites Mobile BBQ of Milford, Pa.
Owner Michael Carriere recently brought his food truck to the Middle School and provided a hands-on lesson about the food truck business, which aligned perfectly with what students were learning about in class.
“It’s great when members of the culinary business community meet with students to explain to them all that’s involved in developing and operating a small business,” said FACS teacher Victoria Ingrassia. “Students get to see that what we talk about in class is a reality. I want to make the classroom experience more than just learning how to safely prepare and cook certain foods. That’s an important life skill they will take with them, but the food preparation world expands so much beyond the home environment.”
It's estimated there are over 23,000 food trucks nationally and the food truck culture has become very popular over recent years. While food carts – the food truck’s precursor --- have been in use since the Roman era, today’s food trucks have evolved as advanced mobile kitchen trucks.
The very first food trucks date back to the chuckwagon era with covered wagons selling perishable food to cowboys and loggers. In the 1890s, food sellers catered to university students.
The first recognizable food truck is thought to be the Oscar Mayer “Wienermobile.” By the 1950s, ice cream trucks were commonplace in neighborhoods. In the mid-1970s, food trucks selling tacos became popular in Los Angeles.
In the mid-2000s, food truck catering technology advanced and grew, social media was equally growing in popularity and a growing interest in street food caused the food truck revolution. Today, particularly in many metropolitan areas, food trucks are now as popular as restaurants, with millions of people buying lunch from food trucks.
In class, eighth- graders talked about small food business operations, what it takes to open a business from scratch, including recipe development, budgeting and costs, design, logo and slogan. Sixth-graders talked about entrepreneurship and what it takes to invest in their own company.
Mike’s Smokin’ Bites Assistant Taylor Arnone spent time with students talking about the business and answered a wide range of questions.
She told them the food truck business was a demanding, yet satisfying, one. Success requires finding a way to attract and maintain customers in addition to having established locations and an appealing menu. Mike’s Smokin’ Bites relies heavily on social media and word of mouth, with Ms. Arnone noting photos of their meals plays a big role in customer enticement.
Students learned that about 25% to 30% of all sales goes back to food cost. There’s also a large amount of upfront costs incurred before any profit can be realized, such as food, labor, gas, location rental and more. Travel time plays a role in profit as well. Mike’s Smokin’ Bites will travel within a one-hour radius from its commissary (where food is stored) for an event.
Revenue depends on the success of the event, she told students, and weather plays a factor for this event-based business. People don’t like to go out to outdoor events in bad weather, but if the food truck is committed to the event, it still goes. That means it could be an unsuccessful day in sales as much as great weather makes the day a hugely profitable one. Typically, this food truck plans to have enough food to sell to 400 people.
But no discussion about food truck business operations would be complete without sampling what’s on the menu. Because of the generosity of the Middle School’s Sunshine Club and an anonymous donor, all interested FACS students and middle school staff. were treated to breakfast or lunch.
Selected students were also put to work, too. During traditional breakfast hours, students grilled fried eggs while at lunch, they helped prepare quesadillas, plate food, prepare drinks and even used technology to place orders.
“Mike, the owner, has always wanted his own business and his wife Dana gave him the idea,” said Ms. Arnone. “He wanted to have a business of his own doing what he knows best and leave a legacy to his kids. If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.”