Food Truck Friday at Civic Space Park downtown remains canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Phoenix Street Food Coalition has found a way to keep the tradition alive.
The coalition has released weekly schedules of local food trucks that will pop up all over the Valley. This helps foster the coalition’s mission to increase the awareness of innovative street food to the Phoenix area and “provide education, advocacy, collaboration, community awareness and integration of specialty and locally sourced foods through responsible street vending,” according to the coalition’s website.
This program helps people find their favorite food truck and vendors can find networking information on how to get their food truck added to the coalition’s weekly schedule.
To be featured on the coalition’s website, vendors have to meet a few requirements, including independently owned, a menu with locally sourced food, proof of proper permits and more.
For those looking for some great food trucks in the community, the Phoenix Street Food Coalition has organized their weekly schedule into lunch and dinner categories. They cover what food trucks will be in the area, what hours they will be operating and the address that the food truck will be temporarily located at.
Some of the food trucks in the downtown community range from The Fry Bread, which offers contemporary fried dough with a Phoenician flair, Mediterranean Majik, near Coronado Park, which offers Mediterranean food with vegan options, and The Chicken Coop AZ, said to have the world’s best chicken and fries.
To keep their followers up to date in real-time, the Phoenix Street Food Coalition utilizes Facebook and Twitter to communicate any cancellations or additions to the lunch and dinner schedule.
Frank Belosic, founder of The Chicken Coop AZ food truck, has networked within the community to create opportunities make it on the coalition’s schedule.
The Chicken Coop AZ prioritizes the use of wholesome ingredients and “old world techniques;” plus, their chicken tenders are both gluten-free and dairy-free.
According to Belosic, everything they make is from scratch from brining their own chicken, creating the sauces and offering vegan and vegetarian organic salad options.
The Chicken Coop AZ is confident that they will not disappoint their customers.
“We have never been told it’s not the world’s best chicken and fries if they actually ordered the product,” Belosic said.
Before the pandemic, Belosic’s truck could be found at Civic Space Park multiple times per month. “The world’s best chicken and fries” helped build his clientele of local foodies, including Arizona State University students and staff.
Most recently they have been located at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, near The Talking Stick Resort Arena downtown.
As various food trucks return throughout the community, the coalition stands as one of many resources to find your favorite food truck downtown.
Contact the reporter at laquinla@asu.edu.
