Putting It All Together - The Food Truck fair showcase

The Food Truck Fair Showcase is the culminating experience of the project—transforming the space into a vibrant, interactive “street food market” where participants bring their food truck concepts to life. Throughout the project, participants have designed their own food truck businesses—developing menus, branding, pricing, and customer experiences. At the Showcase, they step into the role of entrepreneurs, chefs, and business owners, presenting their food truck to a live audience.

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Visitors will walk through the fair as “customers,” exploring a variety of food truck concepts, engaging with participants, and deciding what food trucks they would like to visit and order from. Participants will pitch their food truck concept, showcase menus, branding, and design, practice customer interaction and sales skills, and explain their decision-making and creativity.

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The result is an immersive, real-world simulation of a community food truck festival, where learning is experienced, shared, and celebrated.

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In order to prepare for the Food Truck Fair Showcase, facilitators will guide participants through a series of lessons throughout the project timeline. Alongside the participant’s preparation, the showcase itself will also need to be planned and coordinated. Depending on the level of involvement desired for participants, choose from the following options:

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OPTION 1: Facilitators Plan and Coordinate Food Truck Fair Showcase

* Recommended for shortened versions of the project

In this option, facilitators should plan ahead to:

• Reserve and prepare a space that can simulate a food truck fair (cafeteria, blacktop, multipurpose room, etc.)

• Design a “food truck layout” (booths, tables, or stations as trucks)

• Communicate event details (date, time, expectations)

• Create a visitor flow that mimics a real food festival

• Invite guests to act as customers, judges, and community members

  • School/Program Community: To validate participant’s learning and build campus relationships 

    • Other after-school facilitators, classroom teachers, school administrators, counselors, librarians, campus supervisors, district staff, etc.

  • Participants & Youth Voices: Builds peer inspiration and positions participants as experts.

    • Participants from other schools, community participant leadership groups

  • Families & Caregivers: Increases participant pride and ownership; helps families see the depth of learning beyond homework

    • Parents/guardians, siblings, extended family

  • Community Members & Local Partners/Businesses: Connects learning to real-world entrepreneurship

    • Food truck owners, small business owners, event organizers

  • Civic Representatives: Highlights how businesses operate within systems

    • City staff, licensing departments, health inspectors 

  • Business Professionals: Shows the range of roles within an organization

    • Executives, Management, Entry level, Interns

  • Industry & Career Connections (Optional): Connects the project to future careers and pathways

    • Food truck entrepreneurs, chefs, culinary students, restaurant owners

• Organize timeline of set up, showcase fair, and clean up and communicate to participants/other facilitators 

• EXTRA! Utilize the connections above to set up a field trip for participants to eat at a restaurant or food truck.

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OPTION 2: Facilitators Work with Participants to Plan and Coordinate Food Truck Fair

* Recommended for maximizing the involvement and learning of the participants

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In this option, the Showcase becomes a student-led event, where participants help design and run their own food truck festival. Facilitators still ensure safety, logistics, and final execution—but participants take on meaningful leadership roles.

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Optional lessons will be provided for those who choose to include the participants in the planning process.