28 Wishes sells ice cream in Los Angeles. Below 70°F, sales fall about 20%. The weather is out of their hands. Rent isn't.

So the owners started putting about $20 a day into Kalshi weather markets, taking the cold side. The days that keep customers away now pay something back.

This is hedging. Big companies have done it for decades, buying protection against bad weather, fuel spikes and rising rates. It used to take a broker, a trading desk, and an order size no corner shop could meet.

Kalshi opens it up. Contracts on weather, fuel prices, inflation, tariffs and regulation, starting at a few dollars. Take a position on the outcome that would hurt you. If it hits, the payout softens it. If it doesn't, the contract expires and the good month was the point.

See how other owners are doing it at Kalshi.com/hedging

WELCOME AGAIN 🚚

Hi! Welcome to My Favorite Food Truck Newsletter.

Quick note: There’s no Food Truck of the Week this time. I’ve got some great trucks lined up, and they’ll be back soon. This issue is about something that lands in your inbox, your DMs, and your window all year long: The donation request.

I remember being asked to give money or food for a cause. I didn’t know a portion of what I gave would go to the cause, and another portion would go somewhere else. I wish I had known before I gave.

If you run a mobile food business, you know the routine. A school wants a gift card for a raffle. A church wants food for a fundraiser. A neighbor’s little league wants a sponsor. Most mobile food vendors say yes to a few, say no to the rest, and feel a little guilty either way. Nobody tells you there’s a smarter way to handle it.

There is. It’s called cause marketing, and by the end of this issue you’ll know how to use it without giving away your profit.

If you haven’t grabbed PARKED TO BOOKED, our free Google Business Profile playbook, it’s on the Products Page. Take a good look at the book, and leave a review for me after you read it.

📈 MARKETING PLAYBOOK: Turn Donation Requests Into a Plan

THE PROBLEM:

Random giving costs you money and earns you almost nothing. When you hand out a free meal here and a gift card there, nobody connects those dots back to your truck. You’re generous, but you’re invisible.

One restaurant owner interviewed by FSR Magazine said it plainly: Giving without a plan and a structure wasn’t healthy for his business. His fix was to set up a system so the community could come to him with ideas instead of him writing random checks.

HOW TO FIX IT:

1. Pick one cause, or one cause at a time. It’s easier to talk about, easier to remember, and easier for customers to rally around. Choose something that matters to you and your neighborhood.

2. Set the rules before anyone asks. Decide your amount: A percentage of sales, a set dollar amount per item, or a free item. Write it down. When someone asks for a donation, you already have an answer.

3. Tie it to your best seller. Customers can picture a dollar per sandwich or a drink sold. That’s easier to explain than “a portion of proceeds.”

4. Announce it before and after. Post that you’re giving, then post what you raised. Tag the organization and ask them to share it. That’s the part that gets your truck in front of their followers.

5. Keep it small enough to last. A tiny amount you can keep up for a year beats a big promise you can’t.

6. Say no kindly. Politely turn down what doesn’t fit your plan, and say why: “We’re focused on [your favorite cause] this year, but I’d love to be on your list for next year.”

🔍 REAL EXAMPLES TO LEARN FROM
*I’ve added the links in these examples so you can dig a little deeper if you like.

Schmear It (Philadelphia, PA): A food truck built around giving.
Dave Fine started this bagel truck in 2013 with a social mission. His food truck picks a new nonprofit every two weeks and donates between 3 and 5 percent of sales during that stretch. He chose that range because it was sustainable for his startup.

Each nonprofit got promotion on the truck and on social media, and one program manager said that exposure reached a different crowd than her group normally would. The giving typically raised about $125 to $200 per nonprofit, which is modest.

Dave later opened a bagel shop in University City while keeping the food truck running. A fire once knocked his food truck out of service, and Fine said his customers stayed supportive throughout the whole ordeal.

Here’s what you can take from this example: Small, steady, and well-promoted can build something. There’s no way to prove that giving caused the support for his business, but it is safe to say giving was a core piece of his brand from day one.

Etch (Nashville, TN): Giving tied to a best seller.
This restaurant donates $1 from every roasted cauliflower appetizer, the most popular one on the menu, and has raised more than $100,000 for the local food bank over seven years. It’s a restaurant, not a food truck, but the idea transfers perfectly. What’s your version of the cauliflower? Something to think about.

Lubbock, Texas: Trucks teaming up.
Several trucks parked outside the YWCA one holiday season and donated a quarter of their profits, raising at least a thousand dollars. When trucks join forces, the event gets bigger and so does the audience. Maybe you can join with other food trucks to raise money for a cause.

Tikka Spice (Albuquerque, NM): Let a customer moment spark it.
A customer bought a cookie and asked that it go to the next person in line. It caught on with a few customers, and the owner and his wife turned it into a month of paying it forward, partnering with a new bakery and donating a cookie and a meal to people in need. Notice what happened: a small moment became a campaign, and a second small business got a boost too.

⚡ QUICK BITES

📰 Industry News: Cone Communications’ 2013 Social Impact Study found that 89% of U.S. consumers said they’d be likely to switch to a brand tied to a good cause when price and quality were comparable. It’s an older study, and it was about brands in general, not mobile food vendors, but it points in the same direction as what you’re hearing from your own customers.

💬 FOOD TRUCK MAILBAG (Q&A)

Q: “How do I say no to donation requests without burning bridges?”

A: Have a short, friendly answer ready. Something like: “Thanks so much for thinking of us. This year we’re supporting [your favorite cause], so we can’t take on more, but please check back with us next year.”

You’re not rejecting them. You’re showing that you take giving seriously. And if the request is a great fit but your budget is tight, offer something small, like a food item or a social media shoutout, instead of cash.

Got a question for next week? Reply directly to this post! You can also ask on the Contact page.

🙋 YOUR TURN: SHARE YOUR CAUSE STORY

Does your truck, trailer, or pop-up give back to a cause? I’d love to hear about it. Reply to this newsletter and tell me:

I’ll feature selected stories in a future issue, and it might lead to a Food Truck of the Week spot. Please include your first and last name too.

🎁 SHARE & EARN REWARDS

Enjoying this newsletter? Send it to a fellow food truck, trailer, or pop-up owner. Share it with your friends too!

Let’s keep building, one parking spot at a time. 🚚

Rob West
My Favorite Food Truck Newsletter