Find Food Trucks Near Me: 5 Apps That Connect Food Trailers with Customers

The mobile food industry had a massive, and rapid takeoff- by being the best answer since the invention of the drive-thru to our demand for food on the go.

Food trucks in particular made a big splash on the scene, since they are able to go to literally everywhere that hungry mouths may be. And with food trucks being independently owned people quickly started seeking out their favorite trucks in every city.

And just like that, food trucks and trailers became a norm for urban and rural areas alike.
Brick and mortar locations still had one advantage though. People know where they are, and if they don’t, they can find out.

This isn’t the case for food trucks. They lacked a physical presence online, which made finding them was more a chance of luck than anything. As these food truck owners share, visibility was one of the biggest initial obstacles they overcame at any stage of the game.

That is until people caught on and screamed from the rooftops- “Connect us with food trucks, NOW!”

Not quite literally, but in the last few years over 200 apps have been developed to connect snack-ish customers with food trucks and trailers in their area.

Whether you’re a newbie to the scene, or have had your oven alight for a while, these are 5 apps and websites that you might want to check out if you love lineups out your kitchen window.

These Apps Connect Customers to Food Trucks Instantly

Apps not really your thing? Check out these simple websites instead.

• Food Truck Fiesta

For less than a buck a month, these app users can instantly view and communicate with food trucks in the LA area. This Iphone & Android app is originally based on a blog, and posts updates about new food trucks and truck events.

The only drawback? It uses Twitter as a communication platform between food trucks and customers, which means the app user can only locate a food truck by using their Twitter feeds and a live map.

But since most app users are between the age of 18-34, there is a good chance Twitter is already a norm in their daily smartphone use.

• Eat St.

Eat St. is an app developed by the Food Network, aimed at highlighting more gourmet meals on wheels around their area. Like Food Truck Fiesta, Eat St. relies on a live map Twitter feed. The free app works mostly with stationary food carts, but is in development of being able to successfully host those on the go as well.

Eat St. offers a competitive advantage though- the app lets food trucks owners update their own locations, menus and hours etc. improving the accuracy of these listings.

App users can submit their favorite food trucks as well and add them to the map- though hopefully they’d let you know, so you can constantly be updating your feed and drawing people in.

• Roaming Hunger

This free iPhone app mimics most food truck apps, operating on a live map and food truck owners Twitter feeds. The scope of Roaming Hunger is large, so unlike city specific apps, users can locate food trucks in almost every major city across the US.

Roaming Hunger boasts something pretty wicked though. You can not only search for food trucks near you, but you can narrow it down by cuisine, most liked, recently tweeted, new, vegetarian etc.

• Road Stoves GPS

Road Stoves GPS is an LA based food truck app, which does some extra cool things for users.

Free to download for your IPhone & Android, the app not only connects customers to a food trucks location, but also facilitates selling food trucks and booking catering events.

The app uses actual GPS locations to track food trucks, which means customers can pin point exactly where these mobile kitchens are.

The downside though, is that many food trucks aren’t GPS enabled, which makes the map on Road Stoves still pretty far and in between.

No worries though- the forward thinking team of the app are working on solutions to beef that map up for you.

• TruxMax Lite Food Truck Map

Probably the most user friendly app on the list, TruxMax Lite Food Truck Map is an easy, quick way to find food trucks in 21 cities across the US.

Again, it uses Twitter feeds to track and plot the locations of food trucks in the area. A nifty thing about this app though, is that it saves you from having to scroll through a trucks listing to see hours. Listings are lit in green or blue, indicating open or soon-to-be.

Got a food truck or trailer that you want to add to their listings? The free app doesn’t let you directly, but you can request through their website.

Food Truck Apps Really Drive Customers To You

These kinds of apps help facilitate customers finding mobile kitchens as quickly, and as easily as they do physical restaurants.

In a digitally driven world, integrating your food trailer into the online space isn’t anything short of crucial. Your online presence should be an integral part of your business plan.

Need some help with your food trailers business plan? See our business plan outline, with tips and recommendations.

Amongst other online and offline marketing, your presence on apps and third party websites will 100% drive customers to your window.

Get seen, be seen!

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2. Create a business plan for food trucks
3. Marketing for food trucks