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The Challenge

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How might we restore vibrancy in cities and regions facing economic decline? Read the challenge brief

Inspiration

Mission #5 Surprise Us Find out more...

Mobile: The Food Truck

Mobile food trucks provide community, good food, and jobs via a small business. More importantly, being mobile, they can be used to suss out areas that might be ripe for redevelopment.
The idea of the food truck has definitely come up in past challenges (#IDEOFOODREV and #oi_localfood), but I think it's also very relevant to this one. In the past five years, I've lived in and around two cities: Boston and Miami. Both have a growing food truck population, where even fancy restaurants go mobile to bring their wares to a lunchtime crowd, a student crowd, or an area without many dining options. In Boston, this has been going on for years, with the food trucks primarily serving colleges. In Miami, this recent effort has brought gourmet food along with fast food to many parts of the city, including outdoor events. Good food is a wonderful way to bring people together, and perhaps if subsidized, these trucks could provide rotating types of cuisine to many areas and populations that otherwise wouldn't experience or couldn't afford anything like it.

Mission #5 Surprise Us Find out more...

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December 05, 2011, 08:58PM
Great stuff, Keith. And it's interesting to note some of the mash-ups of food trucks + technology like http://www.psfk.com/2011/11/never-miss-a-food-truck-in-new-york-again.html How might we catalyse and scale the community outreach which food trucks provide? Something to think about for the upcoming Concepting phase ;^)
Keith McCluskey's reply to Meena Kadri's comment
December 06, 2011, 04:41PM
I'm very excited for the connecting phase. And it was instructive seeing the final 16 for the Amnesty challenge, and how they had produced and refined their concepts. Thanks for the note.
Keith McCluskey's reply to Meena Kadri's comment
December 06, 2011, 04:41PM
"Concepting" phase. Apparently my typo got corrected as "connecting".
December 05, 2011, 12:47AM
Nice video! Thanks for sharing. I am intrigued by the idea you mention of subsidizing these food trucks to promote the presence of a wider variety of foods in neighborhoods with less access. Very cool!
Keith McCluskey's reply to Meena Kadri's comment
December 05, 2011, 06:35PM
Thanks Alicia. I do think the idea of subsidies is important, in that it encourages both sides (restaurant / truck owners, and patrons), and sends a clear signal that this is an initiative worth supporting.
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