Justin Amevor wanted to start a food business for years and got his opportunity during the pandemic. He launched DoughBoyz in Worcester, Massachusetts, with a plan to start out in catering and eventually have a food truck called the DoughCart. His dream of founding a food company focused on addressing and solving food insecurity became a reality in 2021. But now inflation is making things difficult for both Amevor and his customers.
鈥淓veryone鈥檚 hurting, you know,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he costs are rising and wages aren鈥檛 matching it, so it鈥檚 just been challenging for our customers, and we just do the best we can to try to keep our prices down and give them the best food that they need.鈥�
Amevor has had to cut back on some of his menu items due to the increase in food prices, like his Japanese souffle-inspired DoughCakes, but he says that allows him to keep other popular options priced low.
Food truck owners in New England and across the country are facing layered challenges this summer, including changes in food prices and product availability, and the high price of gas, which many food trucks use for travel and in some cases refrigeration and food preparation.
Corrie Goldthwaite is the district manager of The Smoothie Bus, based in New Hampshire. The company has three storefront locations and two buses that travel throughout the state and to Massachusetts, selling drinks like their Tropical Twist and Peanut Butter Power smoothies. Goldthwaite says total food costs for the company are up 18% to 20%, and some important ingredients, like yogurt, have been hard to find.
鈥淐urrently, Yoplait vanilla yogurt, we can鈥檛 find that anywhere, like it鈥檚 nonexistent in our community,鈥� she said.
The Smoothie Bus has a third bus that it鈥檚 keeping out of operation until gas prices go down. Goldthwaite said the cost of filling up the trucks鈥� generators is almost three times what it used to be, and that鈥檚 not including the cost of gas to drive the truck from place to place.
Seaside Creamery, an ice cream truck based in 海角换妻, is used to driving to festivals and beaches all summer long.
Brandon Folignio, an employee of the family-owned business, said they鈥檝e had to raise prices 50 cents this year.
鈥淢ostly because of the gas prices, we had to just to make sure we have a little gap for gas, you know?鈥� he said. 鈥淛ust in case we鈥檙e having a slow day, we鈥檙e able to get gas without digging through our savings.鈥�
As she prepares for this summer鈥檚 Great New England BBQ & Food Truck Festival in Milford, New Hampshire in August, host Jody Donohue says she鈥檚 hearing a lot about the cost of gas.
She says some vendors travel long distances to the festival, from Vermont, Maine, 海角换妻 and Massachusetts, and many have asked if they can arrive right before the event begins to minimize the amount of time they need to run their generators. Donohue also said demand has been high for the limited electricity at her venue.
鈥淚 will tell you, many trucks would rather be plugged into electric than run their propane or their generators, and I understand, it鈥檚 expensive and there were several trucks that did not participate because I could not promise them those hookups,鈥� she said.
Amevor, of DoughBoyz, says his food truck is almost finished and will be ready to start heading out later this year. His DoughCart won鈥檛 run on gas; it will be electric-fueled. Amevor says the reasoning for this goes beyond the high gas prices.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to cut down on any sort of fossil fuel emissions because we are trying to be a very sustainable company,鈥� Amevor said.
