www.luluslocaleatery.com

Loren Loomis and her fiancée Robert Tucker’s Food Truck business serves Green perspectives along with locally sourced, all-natural lunch and dinner specialties.

Green Measures at Work in This Business:

• Reused a “Snap-On Tool” van vs. buying new, retrofitted as a rolling restaurant.
• This food truck sports a rooftop garden, custom-built by the owners to grow greens and herbs used in menu items—and attracting plenty of customer attention!
• 100 percent vegan menu promotes healthy alternatives to conventional foods, using no animal product ingredients in menu items or animal by-products in preparation.
  • Specialties include sweet potato falafel, Mexican veggie-quinoa bowl, white bean salad
• Sources ingredients from local farmers’ markets and direct from local farms.
• Varies menu seasonally and develops menu in consultation with local growers, in order to make best use of seasonal foods and locally-produced staple products.
• Uses only compostable food service wares, and provides food-waste compost collection as well as can and bottle recycling for customers and staff.
• Joins forces with other similar businesses on “Food Truck Fridays”—first Friday of every month in Tower Grove Park – to cultivate and expand customer base for all.
• Uses social-networking media to notify customers of service locations—efficiently targeting audience and minimizing advertising costs.

This Business Has More Green Plans:

• Powering their food truck on biodiesel fuel, either locally sourced or DIY refined.
• Installing solar panels on the truck to power cooking equipment.
• Joining with other restaurants to cooperatively purchase compostable products so bigger buying power can cut costs, boost product availability.
• Continue educating customers and the general public about ways to think, live and EAT more sustainably.

Green Ideas Your Business Can Use:

• Repurpose a vehicle or facility instead of buying or building new.
• Purchase from local producers and suppliers
  • Forty-five or more cents of every dollar spent with a locally owned business stays in your local community versus fifteen cents or less of each dollar spent with a chain.
• Go beyond purchasing and partner with suppliers to help boost availability and cut costs of environmentally preferable products.
• Look for ways to team up with similar businesses—your “competitors” could become allies, working together to cultivate a customer base for your specialty business type and help cut common costs.
• Showcase your Green knowledge and commitment—your ideals and investments can become a significant business advantage!

Member of St. Louis Food Truck Association.