Expanding equitable access to mobile food business resources for Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs in west Michigan
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EmailMSU Product Center staff joined with partners to modify the successful “How to Start a Food Truck Business” online course into a four-session, in-person workshop series offered in Spanish.
Many food entrepreneurs face challenging schedules, including those operating mobile food businesses. Online and on-demand course offerings can often serve as some of the best ways to ensure this audience can access vital information and resources at times that fit their availability, allowing entrepreneurs the opportunity to grow their business and reach their goals.
A trend that has proven here to stay, mobile food businesses—or food trucks—captured $1.5 billion in revenue during 2022, according to market size analyses published by IBIS World. In the early months of 2022, the Michigan State University Extension Product Center launched the "How to Start a Food Truck Business" online course in English to meet this growing demand for support, at no cost to the public. This course features speakers from the Kent County Health Department on licensing, the Grand Rapids Food Truck Association on business planning and best practices, Prep Space Kitchen on commissary kitchens, and Grow on business financials and financing. Entrepreneurs who have successfully taken this course finish with a completed business plan and the knowledge to initiate the licensing process for a mobile food business in Michigan.
By the end of 2022, nearly 300 people registered for this online course. Throughout these efforts, Product Center educators received a significant number of requests from Spanish-speaking individuals to offer this successful course in Spanish.
With grant support from the Wege Foundation and a Latinx business development specialist with Ferris State University who served as the Spanish speaking instructor, Product Center staff modified the original, online course into a four-session, in-person workshop series. Grant funding also covered the cost of document translation, catering from food trucks and room rental at the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan.
Guest speakers during the series included representatives from the Kent County Health Department, the Grand Rapids Fire Department, Grow, Michigan Women Forward, the Grand Rapids Food Truck Association and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Each week an evaluation form was requested from participants, and every week over 90% of participants said they found the information valuable and planned to use it in their business strategy for their mobile food business.
The pilot series was planned for 20 participants and 26 people ended up attending. Two participants drove over two hours each week to attend, sharing that Spanish resources for food truck businesses were not available where they lived. This highlights the importance of the course content, as well as how essential it is to remain responsive to the diverse network of food entrepreneurs across Michigan to ensure a vibrant, successful economy that supports our communities.
