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Top 10 Food Truck Grants [Apply Today]

Do you have any plans of starting your own food truck business ? But you do not have enough financial capacity to start it? If that’s your problem, then food truck grants are a great option for you.

Business grants are not like loans, you do not need to repay them and this is the best thing about business grants. They are good for the people who are just starting their businesses. Starting your food truck business with the help of food truck grants is the best option you can ever get!

Want to know how business grants work and everything else ? If that’s true, then stay here and make sure to read this blog.

What Is A Food Trucking Business?

A food truck business as the name suggests, is a business where fast food is sold from a truck. You can serve anything you want from your food truck. There are various types of food trucks but the most common type of food truck is delivery truck.

The food truck business is very popular among the people because it is profitable. Are you planning to start your food truck business too? But worried about the finances? Well, worry not! In this blog, you will get to know from where you can arrange finance to start your business.

List Of Business Grants To Start Your Food Truck Business

There are a lot of grants available for you if you wish to begin your food truck business. However, some of these grants do not directly indicate that they can be used only for starting a food truck business. But they can still be used for incorporating a food truck business.

So, without any further ado, let’s begin with our business grants for the food truck business.

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  • Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBGP)

The very first food truck grant on our list is CDBGP. It was started by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1974.  Now it has become one of the longest-run grant programs at HUD.

This program is a flexible program that offers different communities the resources they need for development purposes. Moreover, this program is designed to design jobs by expanding and retaining local businesses.

In addition to this, this grant program also offers support for various purposes like construction, business planning, training and assistance programs, and equipment purchases.

  • Delta Regional Authority (DRA)

The next on our list of food truck grants is Delta Regional Authority. It has immensely helped in the growth of quality of life as well as enhanced economic development opportunities.

Moreover, the main investment tool that is used by the DRA is the SEDAP which stands for States Economic Development Assistance Program. This program has been developed to boost the economic development activities in the delta region. It focuses mainly on promoting the delta region and growing small businesses.

So, the initiatives that increase jobs in society and are sustainable are eligible for the DRA grants.

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  • Chicago Small Business Improvement Fund

The SBIF supports small businesses to remodel repairing their current location. The repair or remodeling can be done by updating the floors and windows, purchasing property, or replacing signage.

But remember that you will receive these grants once you have made the payment for remodeling.

  • Government Grants

As soon as you are done structuring your business, then you can apply for government grants. To apply for these grants, make sure to visit Grants.gov. From this website, you can apply for state as well as federal grants. Moreover, the best thing about government grants is that it is available for all types of businesses as well as food trucks.

That’s the reason so many people prefer this grant.

  • Nav Small Business Grant

Another food truck grant on our list is the Nav business grant. Nav is a company that provides financing to small businesses, especially food trucks.

They have designed a small business grant program that offers awards of up to $10000 to small business owners.

To receive the benefits of this grant, you are required to sign up for a free account. Then, make sure to post that on the Facebook page.

  • Wells Fargo Community Giving Grants

Another food truck grant on our list is the Wells Fargo Community Grant. You can make an application for these grants at any time of the year, they are open the whole year.

These grants are mainly for educational and nonprofit programs. But the small food truck businesses can also apply and receive the benefits. The best thing about these grants is that they can be used for any type of business. They even go out of their way to help other businesses as well.

  • State Grants

There are state grants as well that can be used to fund small businesses. These grants depend mainly on your location and the state, whether it has such provisions or not.

The state offers some detailed procedures that need to be followed to avail the benefits of these grants. If you wish to take these grants, then you must comply with all the guidelines laid down by them.

  • Lumpkin Foundation Grant

This is a private foundation that offers grants to businesses specifically in East Central Illinois. These grants are mainly available for businesses whose main focus is on food services, sustainable practices, and the local agriculture economy.

So, if you are starting your food truck business, then you can surely take these grants.

  • Healthy Food Financing Initiative

Another one on our list is the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. It offers funding for healthy food retail businesses. The main aim of this program is to offer extra financial resources and capacity building to develop an equitable food system.

  • National Association For Self-Employed (NASE) Grants

The last food truck grant on our list is the NASE grant. If you are a food truck owner, then you can surely use this food truck grant. To qualify for this grant, you need to be a member of NASE.

The candidates who qualified get access to funds up to $4000. You can use this for your business administration requirements. This amount is more than enough to start a good food truck business.

Grants For Truck Drivers To Buy A Truck

How To Apply For Grants?

Now that you know various food truck grants available for you. You must be thinking about the procedure of applying for these grants, right? Well, applying for grants is not as easy as it seems. That’s why we are going to understand the whole process in a detailed manner.

  1. Understand The Process

First things first, understand the whole process as it can be a bit lengthy. Before applying for the food truck grants, make sure to find out if you are eligible or not. Also, try to understand what the fund providers are looking for and what value can your business offer.

Most importantly, keep in mind that as soon as you get the funds, you will need to record the usage and make detailed reports on the usage of funds.

  1. Determine Your Eligibility

Before filing a grant application, make sure that you are eligible to receive one or not. If you are a startup, then you are required to fulfill certain qualifications. Moreover, federal funds are given only to startups whose business is offering some value to society.

To put it in different words, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, etc have greater chances of getting these grants.

  1. Complete The Application

Keep in mind that various components of the application will differ with every grant. But you will need to write a business proposal. Also, you will need to explain how that funding will assist you in putting your ideas into practice.

Moreover, if you have any charts, graphs, or any other visual representation of your work, then you must include them in the application as well. These visuals will provide an idea about how you are going to measure your results after getting the grant.

  1. Submit Your Application

Then finally, you are required to complete the application form. Make sure to recheck it once again before submitting it.

Before applying, check out whether everything is properly sized, formatted, and error-free. Also, make sure to keep the size of the file to 200 MB or less. The individual attachments must be smaller than 100 MB.

In addition to this, the name of the file must be under 50 characters and it must not include any special characters in it. Also, you must keep in mind that your grant will be canceled if it contains any typos or grammatical errors.

Finally, you are required to hit the submit and save button to submit your application.

What Are The Benefits Of Starting A Food Truck Business?

Food truck businesses are very beneficial because they require less capital and offer more profit. There are plenty of benefits to owning a food truck business. One of them is that food trucks offer mobility and you do not need to invest a huge amount to get started.

Other than buying a food truck, you get another option of renting the food truck. Renting is also quite advantageous. You can begin your business with the rental food truck. Thereafter, you can earn a good amount, save it, and use that amount to buy your food truck.

Government grants for food trucks

 

Also, food trucks are mobile and they are not limited to just one location. Instead, the owners can experiment with the location and situate the truck where it is profitable.

One of the best things about food trucks is that people are fond of street food. So, food trucks attract a lot of customers. Customer shortage is not a thing when you are in a food truck business.

In addition to this, as the food trucks are mobile, they do not need much staff and workers. Two or three people are enough to run a food truck successfully. So, you stay safe from giving salaries to people as well.

All in all, food truck businesses have a lot of advantages over restaurants.

Conclusion:-

That’s a wrap of the article on food truck grants. We have thoroughly researched and jotted down a list of food truck grants available for you. Also, we have discussed the application procedure for applying to the grants. All these will be quite helpful to you if you are looking to start your food truck business.

Want to know more about it or have any doubts or confusion? Contact us, well solve your queries

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can you use the funds obtained through grants?

The grant funds are generally used to finance any business concept and offer working capital for a business. Suppose, if you have been awarded money to fund your business, then you can use it only there.

Do You Need Finance To Run Your Food Truck Smoothly?

Yes, you need financing to run your food truck more smoothly. However, managing a food truck business is more affordable than a restaurant. But still, you need some finance to run it efficiently.

Do Banks Offer Finance To Food Trucks?

Of course, banks do offer finance to the food truck businesses. Banks are the first place where most businesses go to raise money.

About Author
T S Thomas is a veteran editor and writer with a particular interest in consumer and personal finance issues. He has held editorial post for Free Stuff in Low Income Families. T S Thomas receive master's degree in Business Administration from the Harvard University.

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