How do you start a business - or two or three new businesses -- in the middle of a pandemic? Especially a food truck & other eateries that are dependent on customers feeling comfortable and safe dining with you? And, with gas prices so high, how does a food truck deal with higher costs when they need gasoline for travel and food to sell?

We speak with a couple of brave and resourceful entrepreneurs who did just that- and we explore how they deal with soaring gas & food prices which we all deal with but which so severely impact their businesses in particular. We also talk with a Chef Jerome Lawson on Georgia House Bill 1443, which would allow food truck owners to operate anywhere in the state on one state-wide permit.

So you want to start a food truck? We've got some tips on how to succeed from Megan Prevost at MustHaveMenus -www.musthavemenus.com - and we also talk to a researcher on whether food trucks harm the restaurant industry, as so many local officials claim - you'll be surprised by what the research found.

The pandemic continues - inside dining is not for everyone - why aren't local governments more supportive of food trucks and food carts when other dining options are limited? That's just what Dr. Ashley Rose Young has been studying as part of the Food History Project at the Smithsonian. Check it out - really interesting

New Year - and new attitude of how to succeed in the food truck business - even during a pandemic. We hear from an amazing 14-year old in Las Vegas who owns his own food truck, also from a Texas food trucker who organized Food Trucks for a Cause to help locals (an effort that is growing), and finally from a couple in upstate New York who actually started their food truck during the pandemic - and their business is booming. Some positive stories to kick off 2022.

Tis the season - not only for gift giving and celebrating our families but also for celebrating the wonderful things that food truck owners around the country do during this holiday season. We've found some trucks who have reached out to their communities and whose communities have reached out to them, including some in our own backyard in New England. They share their stories with us. If you have a story we should include, please let us know at [email protected]. Happy & healthy holiday wishes to you from all of us at Food Truck Ventures.

Truck Tales

More tales from trucks around the country -for our Truck Tales podcast - an update on how our company, Food Truck Ventures, is expanding our fundraising and corporate catering efforts - a new franchisee with some interesting and a great chat with one of the leaders of the food truck industry in New England and her family's many pivots over the past decade. We are always looking for more stories - send them to [email protected] . And, stay tuned...

Truck Tales found some interesting stories to share - Two food truck parks to highlight, one in Maine, the other in Houston with a mission to help black-owned food trucks. And, from the front lines of Food Truck Ventures and Truck Tales, we hear how it all gets done - and from those who get it done - our interns from around the country. Tune in to Truck Tales on FoodTruckVentures.com

No more masks? Eating outdoors? Is Life getting back to our "new normal"? For the food truck industry as well? We hear from some of the country's most knowledgeable food truck experts about how trucks are doing in their regions: Matt Geller, head of the National Food Truck Association and Eric Weiner of Food TrucksIn give us a national perspective and Rashe Malcolm, who started a food truck in the middle of the pandemic, and Jamie Joe, head of the Nashville Food Truck Association, update us on how the food truck industry is doing in their markets - and it's surprisingly good news. And, of course, we at Food Truck Ventures add our two cents with an update on how the food trucks in New England are doing - and it's not all good, but definitely better and better.

Is it safe to dine out now that many of us have been vaccinated? Inside or out? Mask or no mask? Is it safe for employees in restaurants to go back to work? Time to hear from the experts, especially those who study these issues: Corby Kummer, renown food critic and now executive director of the Food & Society policy program at the Aspen Institute, which researched the challenges and created a guide on restaurant dining and safety during the pandemic. Bottom line: Safety means taking some precautions.