EAST LANSING, MI – The city has reinstated a pilot program to allow food trucks and carts to test the downtown market.

The program, first started in 2015, will allow the mobile vendors to set up shop downtown between between March and May at a rate of $100 for two weeks, far cheaper than the $1,800 cost of a 12-month license. The city will offer the springtime trial period for the next three years. It was approved during Tuesday night’s council meeting.

“We’re trying to become a more diverse downtown with different offerings,” Mayor Pro Tem Ruth Beier said before the meeting.

Up to nine food carts and nine food trucks will be allowed to participate. Food carts can operate outside the Marriott at Albert and MAC avenues and in the small park on the northeast corner of Albert Avenue and Abbot Road. Food trucks can operate near the corner of Albert Avenue and Division Street under the colorful parking ramp. They can sell food from 7 a.m. to midnight.

There are presently no food trucks or carts licensed to operate in East Lansing. The rates are higher than other municipalities in the region. Lansing, for instance, charges just $100 annually for an application and background check. Meridian Township charges $60 a month or $240 for four months.

Find the entire article at lansingstatejournal.com [here]

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