title: Can Latino food trucks (loncheras) serve healthy meals? A feasibility study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To conduct a pilot study to assess the feasibility of modifying food truck meals to meet the My Plate guidelines as well as the acceptability of healthier meals among consumers.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited the owners of Latino food trucks (loncheras) in 2013-2014 and offered an incentive for participation, assistance with marketing and training by a bilingual dietitian. We surveyed customers and we audited purchases to estimate sales of the modified meals.
  
  
  METHODS
  City of Los Angeles, CA, USA.
  
  
  METHODS
  Owners or operators of Latino food trucks (loncheras) and their customers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We enrolled twenty-two lonchera owners and eleven completed the intervention, offering more than fifty new menu items meeting meal guidelines. Sales of the meals comprised 2 % of audited orders. Customers rated the meals highly; 97 % said they would recommend and buy them again and 75 % of participants who completed the intervention intended to continue offering the healthier meals. However, adherence to guidelines drifted after several months of operation and participant burden was cited as a reason for dropout among three of eleven lonchera owners who dropped out.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lonchera owners/operators who participated reported minimal difficulty in modifying menu items. Given the difficulty in enrolment, expanding this programme and ensuring adherence would likely need to be accomplished through regulatory requirements, monitoring and feedback, similar to the methods used to achieve compliance with sanitary standards. A companion marketing campaign would be helpful to increase consumer demand.
authors.affiliation: 1RAND Corporation,1776 Main Street,Santa Monica,CA 90407,USA.
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: 1RAND Corporation,1776 Main Street,Santa Monica,CA 90407,USA.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Colaiaco
authors.affiliation: 2Education Northwest,Portland,OR,USA.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martinez-Wenzl
authors.affiliation: 3New Health Consultants,Pasadena,CA,USA.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Montes
authors.affiliation: 1RAND Corporation,1776 Main Street,Santa Monica,CA 90407,USA.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: 1RAND Corporation,1776 Main Street,Santa Monica,CA 90407,USA.
authors.forename: Sandy H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Berry
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003132:Commerce / Q000191:economics; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000191:economics; D000072001:Diet, Healthy / Q000191:economics*; D057140:Fast Foods / Q000191:economics*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D008297:Male; D040541:Marketing / Q000191:economics; D062407:Meals; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012147:Restaurants / Q000191:economics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Away-from-home food; Chronic disease; Nutrition; Obesity; Standards