Food Trust, Penn student group launch ‘Healthy Food Truck Certification Program’

Food trucks of Philadelphia serving unhealthy food: The time has come to step out into the light. And The Food Trust is here to help.

The Food Trust recently partnered with the University of Pennsylvania's student-led Healthy Food Truck Initiative to help make our city's food trucks a little healthier. The result? A jointly run organization dubbed the Healthy Food Truck Certification Program.

To get certified, interested trucks must meet a set a requirements, including vegetarian options, whole grains, and offering water to drink. Following that, qualified trucks will receive a certification sticker, which program organizers will help with standing out at food truck-centric events, like the Food Trust's Night Market.

So far, several area trucks have been awarded Healthy Food Truck certifications, such as Magic Carpet, Schmear It, Surf & Turf, and Chez Yasmine. Other certifications are currently being established. Trucks must be re-certified every two years.

To promote their new food truck program, the Food Trust and Penn's HFTI recently launched an Instagram contest that could net some lucky winners a $25 gift card to their favorite certified food truck. To participate, simply post a picture to Instagram of your favorite healthy meal and tag it with "#healthified."

The Healthy Food Truck Certification Program will hold its first round of certifications through May 2016. More information is available here.