Food Services - Business Valuation Services
The Food Trucks Association of Canada (FTAC) seeks a student or student group collaboration to support its efforts to strengthen the Food Truck and greater street food industry. FTAC believes that it is important for a business at any stage to know and track its value over time. The Association is considering a number of tools & platforms relating to business valuations. FTAC would like to fully test the assumptions of these platforms, business valuation programs / applications, to assess their suitability for conducting or developing a business valuation process for food trucks and other mobile food businesses in Canada. The project aims to understand how these apps calculates valuations, what models they use, and whether they accurately reflect the unique aspects of the food truck industry.
Data Entry - Municipal Bylaw Research Assistant
FTAC is interested in drawing attention to gaps, barriers, and inequities that occur within the business landscape where Canadian Food Trucks operate - chiefly, municipalities. We are undertaking a series of research projects that are truly IDEAL for students to understand the inner workings of how good policy recommendations can have real impacts on the ability for small businesses to thrive and grow. This project aims to transform incomplete data on municipal food truck bylaws in Canada into a comprehensive and reliable information base. Learners will address the inaccuracy and missing information within existing datasets by:Validating existing data: Confirming the accuracy of the information collected previously.Filling knowledge gaps: Conducting research to locate missing details regarding specific bylaws and regulations in each municipality.Enhancing transparency: Providing clear and consistent citations for all data gathered through their research.By achieving these objectives, learners will directly contribute to the creation of a valuable resource for the Food Truck Association of Canada (FTAC). This data will empower the FTAC to advocate for fair and consistent regulations that benefit the food truck industry across the country.
Network Administration and Security Review for Food Trucks Association of Canada
Conduct a comprehensive review and optimization of network administration settings for the Food Trucks Association of Canada (FTAC), focusing on Google Workspace, Slack, and other linked SaaS platforms to ensure optimal security. The project also includes a security assessment of the current web hosting environment. Students will analyze existing configurations, identify potential vulnerabilities, and implement best practices in security and network administration. The aim is to enhance FTAC's overall digital security posture and optimize the efficiency of its cloud-based operations.NOTE: Students will not be exposed to any personally identifying information, member data, or financial data during this project.
Cloud Review and Set-Up Project for Food Trucks Association of Canada
Optimize and implement cloud infrastructure for the Food Trucks Association of Canada (FTAC) using free cloud hosting from www.canarie.ca/cloud. The student will review existing software platforms developed by previous student groups, set up the cloud environment following best practices, and prepare these platforms for final testing and deployment. This project aims to leverage the granted cloud resources effectively, ensuring a robust and scalable infrastructure for FTAC's digital operations.
Financial Forecasting for Food Trucks Association of Canada (FTAC)
Develop a comprehensive financial forecasting and revenue plan for the Food Trucks Association of Canada (FTAC), a national, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. Students will research industry trends, and create a detailed forecast model focusing on passive revenue streams. Key areas include membership fees, display advertising, and website-based opportunities like classified ads. The project aims to produce a data-driven financial projection aligning with FTAC's nonprofit status and mission.
Economic Impact Study - Economic impact of Food Trucks on Local Municipalities
The main goal of this project is to attempt to measure the impact of food truck businesses on local economies and municipal governments. The study aims to comprehensively assess the economic implications of food truck operations and advocate for their positive contributions to local communities. This project seeks to provide an evidence-based understanding of the economic benefits, challenges, and policy considerations associated with food trucks. By conducting rigorous research, our desired outcomes are to generate actionable insights, foster informed policymaking, and promote the sustainable growth of the food truck industry.
Business Basics: Business Planning Tools and Templates for Food Trucks
The primary objective is for students to develop a series of well-researched checklists or self-assessments tailored to food truck operators, caterers, food stands and craft food producers at different phases of their business journey (START, LAUNCH, GROW, EXIT). These resources should help operators understand their current status and provide actionable insights for improvement.
Email Marketing Templates and Customer Journey Mapping Project
The main goal for the project is to provide the Food Trucks Association of Canada with a set of well-designed email marketing templates and a customer journey mapping plan. This will help the organization to engage with its members and potential customers more effectively. The project will involve the following steps for the students:- Learning about the Food Trucks Association of Canada's mission, goals, and target audience.- Creating a set of email marketing templates using HTML and best practices around content and copywriting.- Developing a customer journey mapping plan to understand the touchpoints and interactions with the association's members and potential customers.- Implementing light touch work around automations to streamline the email marketing process.
Content Strategy Mapping, Organization and Workflow
The main goal for this project is to research and resource templates that can be modified and used for various elements of the Food Trucks Association of Canada's content strategy to roll out to the association's membership. Students will gain a strong understanding of developing a strategically driven content strategy and how to organize, categorize, and use proper workflow management in order to move content through the pipeline from conception to distribution.This will involve several different steps for the students, including:- Researching and identifying templates for various elements of the content strategy- Modifying and customizing the selected templates to fit the association's needs- Developing a workflow management system for content creation and distribution- Creating a strategic content strategy plan for the association's membership
Municipal Bylaw Scan in Canada - Research Project
FTAC is interested in drawing attention to gaps, barriers, and inequities that occur within the business landscape where Canadian Food Trucks operate - chiefly, municipalities. We are undertaking a series of research projects that are truly IDEAL for students to understand the inner workings of how good policy recommendations can have real impacts on the ability for small businesses to thrive and grow. In this project, FTAC is undertaking a cross-country review of various bylaws that impact Food Truck operators. This will be the 2nd year this data will be collected to inform our work. All of the research conducted will be online and can be done from anywhere.
Cybersecurity Project: Risk Assessment and Mitigation
To conduct a comprehensive cybersecurity risk assessment for food truck operators and develop a set of guidelines and best practices for mitigating identified risks. This project will have specific focus on the collection of payment card data, PCI compliance, and other data collection practices in modern POS systems.
Charting a course towards sustainability for Canada's Food Trucks
Canada's Food Truck industry is a dynamic and diverse field, constantly introducing new offerings to the market.However, it's important to recognize that food trucks are primarily small businesses, and their owners/operators are heavily involved in day-to-day operations. This includes tasks such as menu development, scouting for ideal locations, and managing various catering and special event opportunities. Amidst these challenges, sustainability might not always be at the forefront of their minds.This is where YOU come in. Students will receive a comprehensive overview of food truck operations, which may include on-site or virtual visits, to gain a thorough understanding of the facilities, resources, and overall environmental impact of these businesses.Ideally, students will conduct assessments of these operations and provide evidence-based recommendations on how these businesses can align with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Creating a practical and tactical plan, along with setting achievable goals, will be crucial in this process.Moreover, the broader objective of this project is to gather sufficient data to develop a set of tools that can be utilized by the entire sector to evaluate their current sustainability status and chart their course towards a more sustainable future.
2024 Data Analysis Projects (Varies Per School and Professor) for the Mobile Food Industry
We’d like students to help analyze a number of openly available datasets to draw helpful insights for various business operators from the mobile food industry. This will have impact for:Food TrucksFood Carts and StandsCaterers and Craft Service Providers CanteensSeasonal operators like concessionsSome small independent cafes and restaurantsFrom the analyses provided by the students, we hope to gain insights that will enhance our strategy to support the industry, and to also provide meaningful tools and data that can be directly used by individual businesses. These insights will be directly related to business outcomes and to solve real world challenges.
Food Cost Visualizer and Planner
The primary objective of this project is to develop a comprehensive Food Cost Visualizer and Planner for Food Trucks, enabling them to effectively plan their menus and manage food costs during their operating season. Students will work with multiple data sets, including open data sources from Statistics Canada (Wholesale food pricing, Consumer Trends, Consumer Price Index), as well as data from Agriculture Boards. The Association will assist in obtaining data feeds for various datasets from the government where possible. NOTE: The use of data scrapers to fetch data in the final product is prohibited.
Using Notion as a tool to best support remote workforces
We'd like to use Notion.so to build a framework within our organization that will help to support the transfer of project information among our remote team members. Students will be asked to select ONE of the following challenges and to create it using the advanced features of Notion.so. OPTION ONE: Build a space for project management, processes and workflow to support a business association that supports its members in their continued success.OPTION TWO: Build a portal that will provide extended support to the more contextual side of our Riipen projects. This will include a project management dashboard and briefing documents for the various projects we administer within the platform. OPTION THREE: Build a portal to manage both team members and independent contractors including the management of workflows between these individuals, including deadlines, and billables, etc.
Food Science and Food Safety - Bay Path University and FTAC
This project will explore several topics for a diverse mix of majors including business administration, food science and food safety, marketing, and communications. The Food Trucks Association of Canada (FTAC) is gearing up to meet with municipal governments across Canada to advocate for more favorable business conditions under which food trucks can operate, grow and thrive. Students may work in one or several of the following areas:1. Exploring the increased demand for environmentally-friendly food2. Comparing emerging vegan options and plant-based-meat / meat blends3. Understanding how more commercial restaurants are experimenting with food trucks, and exploring how food trucks are experimenting with restaurants and commissary kitchens to expand their offerings and operating season. 4. A deep dive on the emergence of alternative options for flour, sugar and salt (or lowered values as appropriate)5. Conducting a review of West African Cuisine as the latest trend in flavor profiles
Directing the "Look and Feel" of Canada's Food Truck Photography and Marketing
Project Description:The Food Trucks Association of Canada aims to revolutionize how food trucks are represented through photography. We have some real challenges - in the volumes of stock photography, many "staged" photos lack a critical lens on capturing important elements like food safety practices, or infection control measures, which aren't at all realistic. We're proposing a project where students develop comprehensive brand guidelines for food truck photography that also respects industry best practices. Additionally, students will create a captivating campaign encouraging food truck operators to submit photos of their trucks and food offerings. This campaign will not only enhance the association's stock photography collective but also educate operators on leveraging photography to showcase their businesses effectively, and understanding when their phone photography is suitable, and when to engage a photography professional.
Charting a course towards sustainability for Canada's Food Trucks
Canada's Food Truck industry is a dynamic and diverse field, constantly introducing new offerings to the market.However, it's important to recognize that food trucks are primarily small businesses, and their owners/operators are heavily involved in day-to-day operations. This includes tasks such as menu development, scouting for ideal locations, and managing various catering and special event opportunities. Amidst these challenges, sustainability might not always be at the forefront of their minds.This is where YOU come in. Students will receive a comprehensive overview of food truck operations, which may include on-site or virtual visits, to gain a thorough understanding of the facilities, resources, and overall environmental impact of these businesses.Ideally, students will conduct assessments of these operations and provide evidence-based recommendations on how these businesses can align with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Creating a practical and tactical plan, along with setting achievable goals, will be crucial in this process.Moreover, the broader objective of this project is to gather sufficient data to develop a set of tools that can be utilized by the entire sector to evaluate their current sustainability status and chart their course towards a more sustainable future.
Web Development Project: Online Ordering Platform
To design and develop a simple yet effective online ordering platform that can be customized for individual food truck operators. This platform is intended for a standalone truck operation and will have a limited feature-set (no geolocation, no inventory, etc.)
Process Automation using Monday.com
We are looking to use Monday.com to build various automations within our organization. The rationale for this is as follows:As an organization supported by a 100% remote workforce, projects and workflows need to be transparent and easy to use. Monday.com has given us a grant license as a nonprofit organization - but this was after a careful review of several platforms including Jira, Notion, Trello and others. We are currently in our launch phase, and building relationships are of significant importance - and we don't anyone to get lost in the shuffle. We need clarity on who is doing what, when, and systematic sweeps to catch things before they fall through the cracks. We appreciate the opportunities that automation offers the Association to keep it both lean and nimble, to ensure that we can keep costs as low as possible for our members.This is a very high demand function for many organizations. We feel that this would be an excellent opportunity for students.
Business Basics: Guidance for Major Equipment Asset Purchases
The central aim is to equip food truck operators, caterers, food stands and craft food producers with the tools and knowledge needed for making informed major equipment purchases. Students will develop a comprehensive guide and decision-making tools that focus on evaluating new vs. used equipment, financing options, and other key factors such as maintenance, care, and service.
The Ultimate Sustainability Guide for Canada's Food Trucks
Food Trucks are small, independent businesses that lack the infrastructure of their brick-and-mortar restaurant counterparts. The Food Trucks Association aims to develop a full suite of tools to provide a competitive infrastructure and suite of tools and resources that will help Food Trucks to advance their business. As thought leaders to the industry, and with continued innovation in the space, we know that food truck operators have the agility and ability to take strides toward sustainability within their business. Canada is a one of 193 member nations who have unanimously agreed to achieve the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030; we wish to do our part to encourage these best practices even for small operators like food trucks. The students will be creating a guide for food truck operators that will draw the important parallels between each of the UN's SDGs and how they apply to each facet of their business. Production support for the guide will be provided.
MBA and Business Program Students - Sustainability for today's Nonprofits
The Great Resignation has led to a greater willingness to leave traditional jobs for careers that offer greater personal fulfillment. This, in turn, has created a more competitive job market for recent graduates and soon-to-be graduates, who are seeking careers that align with their values and offer a sense of purpose.The nonprofit, charitable, and NGO (non-governmental organization) sector is one that has traditionally been attractive to individuals seeking purpose and fulfillment in their careers. The sector is characterized by a mission-driven culture and a focus on making a positive impact on society, which aligns well with the values and goals of many people looking for meaningful work.Careers in the nonprofit sector can also be challenging, as many organizations operate on limited budgets and have limited resources. This project aims to leverage student learnings, to provide greater resource stability and sustainability for mission-driven organizations, like trade associations.
Competition for Canada's Food Trucks, Enabled Through Technology
Food Trucks are small, independent businesses that lack the infrastructure of their brick-and-mortar restaurant counterparts. The Food Trucks Association aims to develop a full suite of tools to provide a competitive infrastructure and suite of tools and resources that will help Food Trucks to advance their business. The Association is looking to refine and hone an alternative system to UberEats, Ritual, DoorDash and SkipTheDishes (among others) here in Canada. These apps generally charge food vendors upwards of 30% for their fees, inflating costs for consumers while also cutting into the bottom line for food trucks. We've purchased a script that is fairly well-documented. We'd like for this suite to be refined to meet our needs, while still maintaining its core code to ensure compatibility for future upgrades. We'd also like to test the software for possible vulnerabilities, and ensure that the full feature set can be used, including a loyalty program.
Best Practices Guide(s) for use by Food Trucks across Canada
Food Trucks are small, independent businesses that lack the infrastructure of their brick-and-mortar restaurant counterparts. The Food Trucks Association aims to develop a full suite of tools to provide a competitive infrastructure and suite of tools and resources that will help Food Trucks to advance their business. The students can decide on one (or more) of the following projects:An employee training manual that will provide best-in-class, interprovincially relevant content to address key topics in workplace health and safety. This guide does not need to include food safety requirements. An employer guide that highlights the importance and advantages of strong workplace health and safety training, which should also include an employer self-assessment, to provide feedback to the employer for their own training and professional development for their business. Other suggested/proposed guides from the students.
Key Messages, Public Relations and Marketing Plans for National Food Trucks Assn
The Food Trucks Association of Canada registered as a federal nonprofit corporation in early Fall, 2020. However, this is the first year that its members have had the opportunity to operate without interruption due to COVID-19 impacts. We're looking to start fresh with renewed strategic plans, and this will result in changes to our marketing & communication, and monetization plans moving forward. Based on the outline of your course and student learning opportunity, this work looks to be an excellent fit.
Database Exploration Project for Food Trucks Association of Canada
In 2021, the Association undertook a policy research project that involved a scan of Canada's top 150 cities ranked by population to evaluate each municipality on the friendliness of their bylaws and other factors critical to the operation of food trucks within each jurisdiction. We would like to leverage this research, and intersect this data with other available datasets to build a highly beneficial BI Suite from which reports can be built for both elected representatives as well as for food truck operators. Additional datasets are as follows:SIMPLYANALYTICS (or Environics): https://www.library.yorku.ca/web/bbl/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2012/06/SimplyAnalytics_Guide.pdf or other market research dataStatsCan, Census 2021, and other available OpenData datasets (recommendations welcome)Elected representative data from sources such as https://represent.opennorth.ca/api/ (may require polynomial mapping for electoral riding boundaries, or the use of a postal code conversion file (PCCF)
HR Best Practices Guide(s) for use by Food Trucks across Canada
Food Trucks are small, independent businesses that lack the infrastructure of their brick-and-mortar restaurant counterparts. The Food Trucks Association aims to develop a full suite of tools to provide a competitive infrastructure and suite of tools and resources that will help Food Trucks to advance their business. The students can decide on one (or more) of the following projects:An employee training manual that will provide best-in-class, interprovincially relevant content to develop and hone soft skills in the areas of customer service, cash handling, special events, teamwork, receptive tourism & hospitality skills. This may also include numeracy, and basic food safety requirementsAn employer guide that highlights the importance and advantages of hiring a diverse and inclusive workforce, which should also include an employer self-assessment, to provide feedback to the employer for their own training and professional developmentOther suggested/proposed guides from the students
Data Science Project: Customer Behavior Analytics (Team 2)
Project Brief for Master's Level Data Analysis Capstone Projects (Team 2)We are excited to provide you with a challenging and impactful Capstone project that complements Team 1's efforts in analyzing rising food costs and their implications for food truck operators. Your focus will be on the consumer side of the equation, and your insights will be invaluable for food truck operators in aligning their offerings with consumer trends and demands.Cross-collaboration between the two teams is strongly encouraged.Analyzing Trendlines in Consumer SpendingTeam 2's mission is to review consumer spending in Canada and evaluate consumer trends related to eating out. Additionally, you will explore the key food trends that are driving demand for various menu items. Your analysis will play a crucial role in helping food truck operators make informed decisions about their menus and pricing strategies.Project Scope and Tasks:Consumer Spending Analysis: Start by collecting and analyzing data related to consumer spending habits in Canada, particularly in the context of dining out and food consumption. Understand how spending patterns have evolved over time.Eating Out Trends: Evaluate trends in consumer behavior related to eating out, including frequency, preferences, and factors influencing these decisions (e.g., convenience, health-conscious choices).Consumer Demand for Menu Items: Identify the specific food trends that are currently driving consumer demand for various menu items. This may include dietary preferences, cultural influences, or emerging food preferences.Cross-referencing with Food Costs: Cross-reference your findings with the data on food costs to provide food truck operators with insights on pricing their menus accordingly. Justify when it's beneficial to use high-cost or unstably priced foods based on strong consumer demand.Data-Driven Recommendations: Provide data-supported recommendations to food truck operators, including menu items that align with consumer trends, pricing strategies, and potential profit margins.Data Sharing:Collaboration and knowledge sharing are encouraged to enhance the overall project's quality.Timeline:Please note that this is a Capstone-level project, and we expect a high level of rigor and professionalism. A project timeline should provide the following milestones at minimum.Data Collection and Preprocessing: [Specify start and end dates]Data Analysis: [Specify start and end dates]Recommendations and Report Writing: [Specify start and end dates]Presentation: [Specify presentation date]Key Takeaways:Focus on understanding consumer spending, eating out trends, and consumer demand for menu items.Collaborate and share insights with Team 1 when necessary.Provide data-backed justifications for menu recommendations, considering both consumer demand and food costs.Maintain a friendly and approachable tone in your communication and presentation.If you have any questions or require additional guidance during the project, please don't hesitate to reach out. We look forward to your contributions to this meaningful sector initiative.Students will use many sources to complete their work, including:Consumer spending data from StatsCanFood Trend Data (various sources)Consumer purchasing behaviour data (various sources)Food Cost Data (StatsCan)
Business Basics: Commercial Insurance Content & Educational Resources
The primary goal of this project is to create comprehensive guidance tools and educational content aimed at helping food truck operators understand the ins and outs of insurance coverage. This should also include content that highlights the risks of being underinsured.To accomplish this, we believe you should focus on:Conducting customer interviews to understand purchase decisions and needs.Defining customer segments that we could target.Brainstorming potential product ideas.Developing marketing messaging and sales strategy for the new product.We hope this new product will increase revenue and grow our customer lifetime value.Students will gain an in-depth understanding of the complexities of insurance in a niche industry.Food truck operators will receive tools and information aimed at improving their insurance coverage and understanding the risks of underinsurance.We want you to help us develop a new product that will appeal to our target customer, which we can offer as an up-sell to our existing product(s).