With St. Augustine's population growing at a steady rate and the popularity of food trucks increasing, the St. Augustine Food Truck Co-Op is pooling resources to meet the demand.
Founded by owners of YAMO Italian Street Food, Dawn and Jason Watkins, the co-op will set St. Augustine apart in the quest to attract the continually growing “foodie” segment with more than a dozen members, including Arepa Life, Wingin' It, YAMO, German Street Food, Po Boy Paul’s and Rad Ringo's Mini Donuts, among others.
"There are many benefits to forming a cooperative," said Dawn Watkins. "Lower costs and resource sharing is a huge benefit for members. Quality products and ingredients can be expensive, and by ordering in bulk and sharing contacts, these items' prices can come down significantly. At the same time, by sharing employees, jobs and ideas for streamlining operating processes, owners will have more time to dedicate toward marketing, scheduling and planning operations."
Each co-op member is committed to helping one another by sharing information on recipes, new hires, marketing and more.
The co-op is encouraging food trucks operating in St. Augustine and other areas of St. Johns County to join and take advantage of cost reductions, product improvement, community involvement and more.
It is also a priority of the group to encourage environmental awareness by using locally-sourced ingredients and purchasing from resident purveyors selling such items as craft beers and locally-sourced seafood.
"After working side-by-side with fellow food truck owners at events and neighborhoods, we quickly recognized the need to band together," said Watkins. "Our goal is to develop an organization that is owned and operated by its members while also providing the use of services and products of the cooperative. It is so rewarding to work toward a mutual goal with our community."
