Fork On The Road is a monthly gathering — featuring a fleet of food trucks — for all food lovers in Adelaide who want to explore great local food, wine, beer and music.
Since seeing the success of food vans in the US, organiser Joe Noone has completed 18 successful Fork On The Road events since its initiation in November 2012. “The idea came about because I travelled to the US a few times and had seen food trucks,” Joe says.
“The last time I was there I saw the idea of a food truck festival. I came back and thought we might have enough to try this in Adelaide. I talked to the council about it and it went from there.”
Source: FacebookJoe says food vans are popular due to choice, diversity, creativity and the freedom of eating outside. “I think in general it's about the food they offer,” he says. “They've probably been trending for a while now, but [Adelaide is] probably more at that phase as to whether they are a permanent fixture as part of food offerings in the city.”
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The event has a strong focus on promoting and supporting local businesses, with food vans making it easier for entrepreneurs to trial new business ideas. “In terms of the people establishing themselves, it's a much cheaper way to get started in the food industry,” Joe says.
“When you compare it to trying to get a bank loan for a three-year release on a fixed premise, it's going to be much cheaper. So you can find a cheap second-hand truck or van and hopefully you have some friends that can fit it out and then you can be on the street a lot quicker. I think it goes hand-in-hand with a culture of innovation and creativity and trying things and willing to risk things.”
Fork On The Road has steered away from a path of charging entry fees or having commercial sponsorship, and Joe has upheld these values over the years. “I think it has become a community event and you are asking people to come along and buy food,” Joe says.
Source: Facebook“I think that's enough, as opposed to paying entry. I've watched a few events where they have [asked for an entry fee] and it hasn't worked. It's a tricky proposition. Your income avenues are quite limited if you are not going to charge an entry fee, or not going to sponsor it. The obvious places that are usually wanting to sponsor you are usually related to alcohol.
“We've really tried to match the local food trucks with local wineries, ciders and beers. That's where it makes it really hard, whether you are fundamentally changing your brand once you introduce big [brands]. It also means big fences up around the event and that's one of the things we've really tried to do is to make it as open as possible. It's an interesting challenge.”
Fork On The Road recently turned to a crowdfunding campaign through Pozible to raise funds for the festival in order to develop and improve the event. “I've had an interest and been a supporter of crowdfunding for quite a while now,” Joe says. “I just thought it was a much more palatable option than entry fees and sponsorships.
“I thought we have a pretty strong online community and strong community to come out, and I thought if we can get enough of them to contribute something then we should be pretty sustainable financially for the next couple of years.”
Source: FacebookIf the campaign is successful, Joe is hoping to put the funds towards enhancing the overall experience for the community, focusing on infrastructure and furniture. “[Over the past years] we have begged and borrowed a lot of furniture and umbrellas. But it's more about infrastructure, it's about making it better. I would love to have a pop-up bar set-up that works properly and a PA system so I don't have to get every band to bring their own gear in.”
Fork On The Road's Pozible campaign has four days remaining.
Pozible have launched The Adelaide Edit — a dedicated page for Adelaide locals to showcase their creative projects. It follows the recent launches of The Sydney Edit and The Brisbane Edit.
