Food booth

A food booth (also food stand, temporary food service facility) is generally a temporary structure used to prepare and sell food to the general public, usually where large groups of people are situated outdoors in a park, at a parade, near a stadium or otherwise. Sometimes the term also refers to the business operations and vendors that operate from such booths.

Background

There is evidence to suggest that certain foods have either originated from, or gained in popularity through food booths. For example, the popularity of the ice cream cone in North America is attributed to the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. According to legend, an ice cream seller had run out of clean dishes, and could not sell any more ice cream. Next door to the ice cream booth was the waffle booth, unsuccessful due to intense heat. The waffle maker offered to make cones by rolling up his waffles and the new product sold well, and was subsequently copied by other vendors.

Operations

A common practice is for modern food booths to operate as concession stands at various kinds of special events. These may be operated by small independent vendors, catering companies, or by established restaurants offering a subset of items featured from a more comprehensive menu. Alternatively, some food booths may be operated by local nonprofit organizations as a means of fundraising. In some situations, nonprofit orgs may face slightly lower processing fees, or less stringent regulations and contractual requirements, making such operations relatively more advantageous.

Food

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells to provide energy, maintain life, or stimulate growth.

Historically, people secured food through two methods: hunting and gathering and agriculture. Today, the majority of the food energy required by the ever increasing population of the world is supplied by the food industry.

Food safety and food security are monitored by agencies like the International Association for Food Protection, World Resources Institute, World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization, and International Food Information Council. They address issues such as sustainability, biological diversity, climate change, nutritional economics, population growth, water supply, and access to food.

The right to food is a human right derived from the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), recognizing the "right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food," as well as the "fundamental right to be free from hunger."