MISSOULA — An Instagram account in Missoula is helping people find where their favorite food trucks are.
The Food Truck Locater Instagram page is an easy solution to a pretty frustrating question for people, where is my favorite food truck today?
The developer of the page, Eric Bucy, says that the problematic question exactly how this idea got started.
"I was always wondering where these food trucks were? I would see one and then the next day I would go there and it wouldn’t be there,": he said.
" I never knew what time places were open and then it just kind of evolved," Bucy added. "I just figured I would take the initiative to reach out to these people."
The page currently lists between even and 17 food truck locations on it a day.
Bucy says food trucks in town have been super receptive to the idea and that they have been extremely easy to work with.
"You know I went to their food truck and they are all super supportive of it. It's helping out them and me and everyone else who is looking for food trucks so it’s a win-win all around."
Local food trucks say the finder is a huge help.
"I couldn’t tell you how many times I get phone calls a day asking where we are, this is something that helps find all the food trucks around town," Mountain Berry Bowls owner James Lynch said.
"I really think that it's going to help not only us as a food truck but the entire community," Breze Schmitz told MTN News. "I think it's going to bridge the community with the schedule with the events going on. I think it's going to be a super big help."
Bucy and the folks at Mountain Berry Bowls are impressed with the success of the app so far hope that the page could be developed into an app in the future.
Bucy is a freelance motion graphic artist so designing the aesthetic of the page was right up the page creator’s alley and his familiarity with Instagram made the platform the one of choice.
“Honestly it’s the only social network I use really personally. I just have my own so I’m on Instagram and it's one I found a lot of food trucks, to begin with,” the apps creator said.
He does say that he could see Facebook as another platform the page which food truck owners have said has been super helpful so far.
“We have had a handful of people come up and say that we even found out you were a food truck from the app,” Schmitz said.
“It’s unexpected but it’s kind of like a little miracle. Someone just coming in and helping for the sake of helping,” Lynch added.
You can visit the Instagram pagehere.
