Changing Food Landscapes: Understanding the Food Truck Movement in Atlanta, Georgia Open Access

Abstract

Street food is a centuries-old concept and is often regarded as a global phenomenon. This study helps to further define and unveil the 21^st century vending phenomenon of the gourmet, technologically savvy food truck industry in the United States, and specifically in Atlanta, Georgia. This research takes an ethnographic and exploratory approach to exposing the nature and scope of the Atlanta food truck movement through the perspectives of eleven local food truck vendors and five non-vendors involved in the movement. Moreover, this study provides the first ethnographic documentation of the Atlanta food truck movement. Through participant observation and semi-structured interviews, this report examines food truck vendor characteristics, motivations, challenges, ambitions, and observations in the Atlanta food truck scene. The findings indicate that the vendors' motivations for engaging in the Atlanta food truck scene are twofold: they are driven by both economic advantage and socio-cultural appeal. In addition, despite challenges with metropolitan Atlanta area's complex permitting and regulatory processes, vendors were optimistic and excited for the future and longevity of their business and other food trucks in Atlanta. As evident in the vendor and non-vendor interviews, the Atlanta food truck scene is constantly evolving, and suggests that with time, food trucks and the communities they create have the potential to flourish in the city.

Table of Contents

Introduction...............................................................................1

Chapter 1: Background Research..................................................4

The Street Food Vending Debate......................................................4

A Global Perspective on Street Vending.............................................7

Food Markets and Street Food in the United States..............................9

The 21^st Century Food Truck Movement in the United States.................11

Case Studies of Food Trucks in Cities Across the United States..............20

Food Trucks in Atlanta, Georgia.......................................................24

Chapter 2: Methods.....................................................................29

Research Design...........................................................................29

Justification.................................................................................29

Sample.......................................................................................30

Data Collection.............................................................................31

Definitions...................................................................................33

Chapter 3: Findings.....................................................................35

The Vendors: A Summary...............................................................36

Introducing the Vendors.................................................................39

The Non-Vendor Perspectives..........................................................49

Chapter 4: Discussion..................................................................54

Key Findings.................................................................................54

Motivations...................................................................................55

Challenges....................................................................................61

Future Ambitions and Prospects........................................................65

Observations of the Atlanta Food Truck Movement...............................66

Study Limitations...........................................................................67

Implications and Suggestions for Future Research................................68

Concluding Remarks........................................................................71

References..................................................................................73

Tables:

Table 1: Vendor Semi-Structured Interview Questions...........................32

Table 2: Non-Vendor Semi-Structured Interview Questions.....................33

Table 3: Vendor Characteristics.........................................................36

Table 4: Food Truck Business Characteristics.......................................37

Table 5: Summarized Findings...........................................................38

Figures:

Figure 1: An example of an Atlanta-based food truck's tweets on Twitter...19

Figure 2: An example of an Atlanta-based food truck's Facebook updates...19

About this Honors Thesis

Rights statement

• Permission granted by the author to include this thesis or dissertation in this repository. All rights reserved by the author. Please contact the author for information regarding the reproduction and use of this thesis or dissertation.

School	Emory College
Department	Anthropology
Degree	BS
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Anthropology, Cultural
Keyword	Atlanta, Georgia Food trucks Street food
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Armelagos, George, Emory University
Committee Members	Worthman, Carol, Emory University Patterson, Bobbi (Barbara), Emory University

Last modified

Primary PDF

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions
	Changing Food Landscapes: Understanding the Food Truck Movement in Atlanta, Georgia ()	2018-08-28 11:17:00 -0400	Press to Select an action Download

Supplemental Files

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions