How To Write A Food Truck Petition

Learning how to write a food truck petition is valuable for a food truck activist, even if you’re not experience in gathering community support for your cause. Petition writing for food trucks isn’t time-consuming or demanding. But there are a few do’s and don’ts that will make your petition drive have more impact on your local legislators.

Does your city or county allow food trucks, or is the current ordinance far too restrictive? Create a petition. Petitions can reshape the way food trucks in your community operate if done properly. Today we’ll touch on some tips to help you write an unbeatable food truck petition.

How To Write A Food Truck Petition

Research Petition Process

Verify that a food truck petition falls under your local government’s jurisdiction. Contact your local government offices or check your local government website. In some cases, you might need to petition at the county or state level. The government office should be able to direct you to the department that handles matters related to food trucks. Then request petition guidelines.

Find out how many signatures you need and look up whether or not your petition needs approval before being circulated.

Learn how people must sign the petition for it to be valid. There are some laws that require an address for each signature.

Research your topic so you understand the various positions fully. Researching your topic is also a good way to find out if someone has already started a petition about it.

Consider which medium for circulating your petition is ideal. Paper petitions can be more effective for local petitions, but online petitions can reach broader networks much faster.

Some popular petition sites:

Writing Your Food Truck Petition

Be Clear. Develop a very specific statement that identifies what you want people to support that is precise, concise, and informative.
Make it brief. People will be less likely to support you if they have to spend a great deal of time reading what you have to say. No matter how long your petition is, you must put your specific goal at the very beginning of the first paragraph. Then follow it up with your reason(s) for petitioning. This will be the paragraph that most people read. Add paragraphs that support your first paragraph. These paragraphs should contain information and specific examples showing the importance of allowing food trucks in your community.
Double check clarity. Read over your summary carefully. Make sure it describes the current food truck situation, suggests what is needed, and explains why it is needed.
Keep it clean. Edit for spelling and grammar errors. If your petition is full of errors, it is unlikely you will be taken seriously. Proofread your petition for obvious mistakes and then read it out loud to determine if it makes sense.

The Signer’s Form

Create a signer’s form on a separate sheet of paper. Put the petition title on top. Your petition title should be concise but descriptive. Food Truck Petition Title Example: Petition for Food Trucks in [insert your city here]. Use a spreadsheet or word processing program or your food truck petition to look much more professional and will be easier to change if needed. Divide the page into five columns:

Name
Address (allow plenty of room for this column)
E-mail Address
Phone Number
Signature

Provide ten to 20 lines per page and then photocopy or print multiple copies of your original. Create enough pages for the number of signatures you need. Number the pages so you can keep track of them and the number of signatures you have collected.

Promoting Your Food Truck Petition

Talk with people in person. Go where you can speak with large numbers of people concerned about food trucks. Consider food truck events in neighboring communities. Make sure you have permission from the event promoters.
Get assistance from food truck vendors. Whether you own a food truck or are just a fan, speak with food truck vendors in your area and ask them if they will gather signatures from their customers, or if you can stand outside of their trucks to gather support.
Use e-mail. Create an online version of your petition and send it to your family, friends, and food truck vendors in your city or state. Try not to flood them with e-mails, instead, follow up a first round of petitions with two or three reminders over the period of time when you are petitioning.
Create an online presence for your petition. Create a blog or online forum where you can discuss your food truck petition and answer the questions of potential signers. Facebook and Twitter are great ways to get the word out and could help make a movement large enough to get a nationwide following.
Get media coverage. Contact local media about your cause; try for a local radio station or newspaper first. As your food truck petition gains momentum, so will the coverage.

We hope these food truck petition tips help those of you looking to get a local city or county to institute fair and nonrestrictive food truck laws in your area. If you have any additional tips, share your thoughts on social media. Facebook | Twitter