Food Truck Academy

The City of St. Petersburg seeks a qualified vendor to develop and deliver the Food Truck Academy, a workforce and small-business training program designed to prepare City residents and aspiring entrepreneurs to launch and sustain mobile food businesses. The selected vendor will provide curriculum development, instructional materials, structured training services, technical assistance, and outcome reporting.

The City of St. Petersburg Economic & Workforce Development Department is committed to advancing economic mobility, workforce readiness, and small-business development opportunities for residents. Mobile food vending can provide an accessible pathway into entrepreneurship while creating jobs and neighborhood economic activity.

The Food Truck Academy is intended to address common barriers to entry by providing structured, high-quality training in business readiness, regulatory compliance, financial sustainability, and operational excellence. The selected vendor must demonstrate the capacity to translate these goals into a practical training program that supports participants from concept development through launch readiness.

The Food Truck Academy aims to:

• Complete a Food Truck Academy curriculum aligned with workforce development and small-business outcomes.
• Increase participant knowledge of food-truck concept development, permitting, food safety, and legal requirements.
• Improve participant financial literacy, budgeting, pricing, and operational readiness.
• Increase participant preparedness to complete business plans, secure permits, and move toward launch.
• Expand entrepreneurial capacity and job-creation potential among Academy participants.