I was a middle/high school engineering and computer science instructor for nearly 20 years, but my passion for food has always been in the forefront. Ever since childhood, my passion for food has been being creative with ingredients and flavors. My dream has always been to open a food establishment and have the freedom to create new and exciting dishes. After retiring, the pandemic slightly changed my focus from having a brick-and-mortar to a food truck. After making my menu (using Canva and PowerPoint), I wasted too much time updating menu items and prices. As we all know, being in food service, time is money and can easily be taken up unnecessarily. It was only after being in business for a few months and tweaking my processes that I took some time to tackle my menu issue.

The first thing most of us do is go online and see what products are available. Although several digital menu systems are available, I found most of them did not meet the criteria I was looking for, for example, cost. As a food truck vendor, my budget is always at the top. Most were too costly for the budget I was working with. Next, I investigated the features I needed. If they meet the requirements for the features I was looking for, again, it did not fall within my budget. Those systems that fell within my budget did not have most of the features I needed. For example, I needed the system to be completely dynamic. This means I could create menu items and only update those as needed without disrupting how they are displayed.

At this time, I put on my “teacher” hat and began creating a solution. I was already using a TV and USB to display my current menu, but now I needed this to be dynamic and efficient. Long story short, I developed a web-based system allowing me to input all my menu items with images, descriptions, and prices. Once the system was populated with my items, I could easily update using any device with a browser and Internet access. Of course, during the development and deployment process, several iterations were made and continued to improve the time it took to create or update any item.

I used this system for about a year, continuing to add features I found would be beneficial. Again, keeping in mind my goal of saving time, we know once you’re on the truck, variables continue to change during operation. Some take up more of our time than others, but not having to worry about your menu gives you some peace of mind. My employees or I could easily disable a menu item if it is sold out at the click of a button. The menu automatically updates within a few seconds, and service continues without having those continuous conversations of saying, “Sorry, we are sold out!”.

I realized after developing this system because there was nothing out there that supported our industry, I would share it with my community. Keeping in mind budget! This is why I am now offering my digital menu system to be budget friendly. Although I do not provide equipment, the cost of this is still within most of our budgets. You may already have what you need either on your truck or laying around your home. All you need is a TV with an HDMI input and a media stick.

Give it a try for free and see if it fits your needs!