Mobile Food Vending Permitting and Policies in Douglas County, KS

In 2023 and early 2024, the Douglas County Food Policy Council’s (DCFPC) Economic Development working group embarked on a year-long effort to examine the food truck industry in Douglas County, Kansas, including a review of current regulations and permitting requirements of communities within the county. Through those months we found that regulations, permitting, fees, and other requirements for food trucks to operate in Lawrence and Douglas County can be restrictive, unclear, and sometimes costly. This reduces opportunities for some food service entrepreneurs, especially those systematically disadvantaged, to enter the industry. We sought to determine equitable and fair regulations, provide sufficient resources to food truck entrepreneurs, and offer efficient systems and processes for mobile food vendors to operate in Lawrence and Douglas County. Our aspiration is to see an increase in the number of permitted food trucks operating in our County over the next five years.

We spoke with members of city and county staff across Douglas County, met with community members at the following events: Baldwin City Third Friday Market, Cottins Farmers Market, Lawrence Farmers Market, Eudora Farmers Market, and Kaw Valley Farm Tour. Through a partnership with The University of Kansas’ Health, Sport and Exercise Science’s department, we issued, received, and analyzed 51 local producer surveys, 112 local community surveys, 22 local restaurant industry surveys. We also held three Food Truck Focus groups with a total of 10 local food truck owners/operators attending, who provided us valuable insight from their lived experience. Through these efforts, we found opportunities to improve permitting, inspections, and operation of food trucks in the City of Lawrence.

The following report details our efforts and our policy recommendations for the City of Lawrence staff and Commissioners. We want to thank all who helped the DCFPC in this effort.