DENVER — The Colorado Department of Transportation issued emergency rules on May 7 that established a process for food-truck operators to obtain permits to serve food at highway rest areas.
The action is in response to the difficulty many commercial motor carriers, who are moving critical freight and goods across the country during the COVID-19 crisis, are having in finding access to prepared food throughout the nation.
“This action helps ensure the availability of freshly prepared food to commercial truck drivers while simultaneously providing additional economic opportunities to food-truck operators, said Shoshana Lew, executive director of the Colorado DOT.
“These food-truck operators are mainly owners of small businesses, which are being hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis,” she continued. “Participating food-truck vendors will — like businesses across Colorado — need to comply fully with all social-distancing requirements pursuant to Gov. (Jared) Polis’ ‘Safer at Home’ executive order to protect the health and safety of themselves and freight operators.”
Polis issued an executive order May 2 that suspended a section of Colorado’s statute to allow food trucks to operate at the state’s rest areas.
“As Coloradans continue to take precautions, including wearing masks and staying home, we are all grateful for the hard work of Colorado’s truckers, who are working hard to ensure that our supply chain runs smoothly and our grocery shelves are stocked,” Polis said.
“In addition to expressing thanks to truckers, we are taking action and removing barriers and regulations that get in the way of our truckers having access to freshly made meals,” Polis said. “This action will help Colorado’s truckers have access to fresh and affordable meals on the road and help our small food-truck businesses continue to support themselves in a way that also supports our critical supply chain needs and our community. I encourage food-truck operators to help truckers who are helping all of us by getting out to Colorado’s rest stops.”
Interested food truck operators can view requirements, rest-area sites, and apply for a permit here. The initial rest areas available for food truck service will be at the following sites:
- Colorado City;
- Cortez (Sleeping Ute);
- Edwards;
- El Moro Trinidad;
- Rifle Rest Area;
- Shaw Creek (South Fork);
- Sterling; and
- Wiggins.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
