Southern California Mobile Food Vendors Association

Eating LA event, December 15, 2013

The SoCalMFVA is very excited to be a part of the Eating LA event: 2525 Michigan Ave, Santa Monica 90404 on Sunday, December 15, noon-5pm.

The Eating LA marketplace features a variety of handmade delectables by some of LA’s finest cottage and artisan food makers. The forum offers 2 panel discussions (1PM & 3PM) about ways to grow our local food system and features change-makers such as Larry Santoyo (Earthflow Design Works), Rick Nahmias (Food Forward), Elliott Kuhn (Reedley St. Farms & TreePeople), Mud Baron (Muir Ranch), Rafael Quezada (The Waters Wheel), Megan Hanson (RootDownLA), and Erin McMorrow (Kiss the Ground),Matt Geller (SoCal Mobile Food Vendors Assn.) plus restauranteurs and chefs such as Flynn McGarry (teenage protégé and chef of Eureka), Tom Elliott (Venice Alehouse), Stefano De Lorenzo (La Botte Ristorante), Matthew Geller (SoCal Mobile Food Vendors Assn.), and Cristina Urioste (Rasa Foods).

Chef Gino will be cooking with the kids and the Master Food Preservers will teach you how to make preserves at home. Plus, Ray Cirino will be baking pizza in his dragon pizza oven.

EarthWE will screen the new documentary Growing Cities at 5:30, so stick around for a movie and popcorn. La Botte Ristorante will offer a special menu that evening highlighting local food from LA’s urban farmers, gleaners, wild-food foragers.

The event is free but seating is limited. Please RSVP at:

www.earthwe.com/events/detail/eating-la

Event site:

https://www.facebook.com/events/377285192402846/?ref=br_tf

Eating LA event

The SoCalMFVA has helped to change anti-food truck laws and policies in over 20 municipalities.  We have worked with cities, counties and the State to ensure food trucks are able to do business free from regulatory constraints that are not public safety oriented.  Our goals do not stop at making positive regulatory changes.  Since January 2010, we’ve tried to answer questions and give support to prospective food truck operators, food truck builders and technology system creators.  We’ve reached beyond the borders of California to help other Associations get started nationwide.  We’ve lent a helping hand to the trucks of Baton Rouge, DC, Central Ohio, NYC, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Maryland, Minnesota, Chicago to name a few.

The SoCalMFVA has successfully run daily and weekly food truck lots for over three and a half years.  We do our best to maintain great variety bringing local businesses and communities the best trucks on a regular rotation.  The food truck lots have helped make food trucks a mainstay in Los Angeles while providing quality food to hard working Los Angelenos.

In an effort to continue making the industry easier, we’re going to provide more support for those that support food truckers.  If your business provides quality services to the industry, whether that be goods or services and you’re having issues with regulatory bodies or you just need some guidance, please contact us at socalmfva@gmail.com.

If you’re a new truck or a food truck builder and you’re having trouble with the Health Department plan check, please contact us immediately.  We can help.

By: Katie Bascuas

The mobile food industry hasn’t necessarily been welcomed with open arms in many U.S. cities. Food truck operators in places like Washington, DC, and San Francisco are often fighting complicated regulations and zoning requirements that would limit the areas where they could legally operate.

The SoCal Mobile Food Vendors Association wants to change that and is working city-by-city to help local food truck operators establish associations and work toward beneficial regulations in their area.

“Just like any business—forget that it’s food trucks—every business wants a regulatory environment that’s going to allow them to succeed or fail on merits,” said Matt Geller, president of SoCalMFVA, who over the past couple of years has helped form food truck associations in Washington, DC; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Denver; Philadelphia; New York; and New Orleans.

“I help them understand the organizational process,” Geller said. “I give them their bylaws so they don’t have to spend money on attorneys to write bylaws, and I give them their 501(c)(6) filing so they can just file and make it very, very easy on themselves.”

– See more at: http://associationsnow.com/2013/08/how-one-association-is-leading-a-food-truck-revolution/#sthash.O76AUCsl.dpuf

Organizing 101

Over the past three years the SoCal Mobile Food Vendors Association has assisted 11 other food truck associations form.  We have provided guidance, bylaws and help with 501(c)(6) filings for non profit status.  We do this because we believe that strong advocacy nationwide furthers our cause here in California and because we believe that everyone deserves a voice.

We’re expanding our initiative to help fledgling food truck associations.  If you need help creating or organizing a new food truck association, please email us and we’ll do our best to help out.

The first step in getting an association together is getting the relevant parties (truck owners) into a room to discuss the issues.  The first meeting should be used to identify the most important issues facing the industry in your area. Create a list in order of importance.  Typically lists include: bans, time limit restrictions, street vending restrictions, private property bans, etc. Once the list is together a strategy can be developed to achieve your goals.

We will help you every step of the way.

Meals on Wheels of Long Beach and Rock for Vets Sponsor First Annual Variety Show & Concert Fundraiser Set for June 29, 2013

At the Scottish Rite “Ernest Borgnine Theatre”

Proceeds Will Help Feed Homebound Long Beach Veterans

When:  Saturday, June 29, 2013

Doors open: 12:00 noon        Variety Show & Concert: 2:00pm–5:00pm

Where: The Scottish Rite “Ernest Borgnine Theater”

855 Elm Street, Long Beach, CA  90813

Who:  Meals on Wheels of Long Beach, a non-profit home delivered meal program for seniors, veterans and the disabled who may have difficulty shopping or cooking for themselves, and The Rock Club’s ‘Rock for Vets’, a non-profit Music Instructional Program located at the Long Beach VA Hospital.

What: This will be a joint fundraiser and proceeds will help feed homebound Veterans in the Long Beach and Signal Hill area with daily meals from Meals on Wheels and provide funding for The Rock Club’s ‘Rock For Vets’ Veteran focused Music Instructional Program in Long Beach.

Live musical performances by the ‘Rock For Vets’ Music Educational Band, Freddie Davis Jr. (performed with The Drifters, The Platters and Hank Ballard’s The Midnighters), Long Beach’s own Boxcar 7, The Windy Ridge Bluegrass Band, the Pin-up Doll Platoon, plus Sean ‘ELVIS’ Martin.  Numerous raffle items, a silent auction and Gourmet Food Trucks with the Long Beach Derby Gals as hostesses (kicks off at 12pm).

Variety Show tickets are only $25.00 per person and if you cannot attend, please send a Veteran in your place. To purchase tickets now or to donate for a Veteran, visit WWW.MOWLB.ORG find and click ‘Save the Date’ image on the right.

Seating is open and limited. Tickets will be held at will call & confirmations sent via email.  We realize that you have a choice of who you support throughout the year. Please join us in this great collaboration to make this event a huge success.

Sponsorship opportunities are also available; please contact Frank McIlquham, Director of The Rock Club via email to frank@therockclub.net or Bill Cruikshank, Director of Meals on Wheels of Long Beach at bill.cruikshank@mowlb.org.

Event Sponsors: St. Mary Medical Center, Fresh & Easy Markets, Home Instead Senior Care, Speedpro Imaging Long Beach, The Queen Mary, Delightful Crepe Café, Delius Restaurant, Long Beach Ballet, Long Beach Playhouse, California Repertory, Q Guitars, International City Theater, Long Beach Shakespeare Company, Antica Extra Virgin Olive Oil, BC Auctions, The Fit Stop, Long Beach Derby Gals, KMC Musicorp, Downtown Long Beach Business Association, Greg Campbell DDS Dentistry, CareMore, Signal Hill Tribune, Long Beach Post, Orange County Breeze, California Bowlers Association, Turner Chiropractic & Wellness Center, Orozco’s Automotive, Performance Plus Tire & Automotive, Scottish Rite Ernest Borgnine Theater, BC Auctions, Rock for Vets & Meals on Wheels of Long Beach.

About The Rock Club “Rock for Vets” program: The “Rock for Vets” music instructional program founded in May of 2010 is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization located at the Long Beach VA Hospital. The program provides veterans an opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument or sing and become part of the band that is guided by former professionals from the music industry. The band practices twice a week and as they develop their skills, perform in public for a variety of organizations and fundraisers both at the VA Hospital and in the community. As one veteran stated, “This program gave me a reason to live. I no longer have thoughts of suicide”. For more information please visit WWW.THEROCKCLUB.NET .

About Meals on Wheels of Long Beach: Meals on Wheels of Long Beach (MOWLB) was established on March 1, 1971 and is a non-profit, non-government funded, 501(c)(3) community service organization. The program operates with the assistance of over 300 dedicated volunteers, numerous donors and seven permanent staff. MOWLB provides a service of two home delivered nutritionally balanced meals w/ beverages each weekday for individuals who are unable to shop and cook for themselves and who may live alone. Our clients consist of seniors, veterans, the physically & mentally disabled and chronically ill adults in the Long Beach and Signal Hill communities. The meals are delivered by an army of “Friendly Visitor” volunteers who not only bring a meal but a visit and smile each day. For more information please visit WWW.MOWLB.ORG .

 
The Airtel Plaza Food Truck lot is BACK!!!!

The best happy hour and the best trucks in the Valley every Wednesday night starting June 5th!

Check the Schedule here: https://lotmom.com/lots/profile/42

June 5th Trucks will be:

Baby’s Bad Ass Burgers
Tainamite
Palazzolo
La Frite Express
No Jodas Cuban

7277 Valjean Ave., Van Nuys, Los Angeles, CA 91406.