Food trucks to have new home in Clinton

Plans for a long-awaited centralized location for the food trucks now scattered across Clinton are finally becoming a reality, after the Board of Aldermen voted at its November 19 meeting to approve a lease agreement for the food truck operators. The Firehouse Food Park will be located at 915 Old Vicksburg Road near Fire Station 2, in the upper parking lot of Kids Towne Park.

“We’ll have four spaces that will be available for the six-month lease,” says Parks and Recreation Director Courtney Nunn. “And then we’ll have one to two spaces, depending on the need, for the daily spaces.”

Food truck operators will pay $300 per month for the longer-term lease and $25 for the daily option. The trucks in the monthly spaces are required to be open Tuesday through Saturday and can choose to operate on Sundays and Mondays, as well.

The Food Park hours will be 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Alcohol sales will not be permitted.

Interested food vendors will be required to fill out an application available on the City’s website, provide a menu with prices and proposed hours of operation, and supply a photo of the food truck and a copy of their ServSafe certification. ServSafe is a National Restaurant Association food safety training program. According to the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Mississippi Food Code requires that each food establishment must have at least one certified food safety manager employed full-time.

The Mississippi State Department of Health recognizes the ServSafe certification as satisfying this requirement. Food truck operators selected for one of the spaces at the Firehouse Food Park will be contacted regarding the requirements outlined in the lease agreement with the City.

Those who have been doing business elsewhere in Clinton will receive priority consideration for a space at the Food Park and will have thirty days to move, if selected. After that, no food trucks will be allowed to operate in the city outside the Food Park, except for special events.

Ward 1 Alderwoman Karen Godfrey was part of an ad hoc committee which worked out the Firehouse Food Park details. “I think it’ll be better, because people will know where to go [to find a food truck], and there’ll be hours of operation that they have to be open,” Godfrey. “I think it’ll be a place where people know they can go to get lunch or dinner.” She thinks the location near Kids Towne and the new pickleball complex that’s under construction will be ideal. “And it’s close to Traceway [Park], too. When they have  tournaments out there, I think people will take their families [to Firehouse Food Park] to eat.” Godfrey believes that a lot of people in Clinton don’t even know where the food trucks are currently located. “I think when they’re all together in one place, it’ll be better for everybody.”