Sydney’s first green meals-on-wheels was launched at the Sydney stadium recently when The Veggie Patch Van dished up 800 gourmet veggie burgers at the Better Homes and Gardens Live event.
Inspired by the mobile food-van culture of cities such as New York, collaborators Milenka Osen, 30, and Georgie Swift, 29, co-owners of TMOD experiential design and interactive stationery, and Karl Cooney, co-owner of popular Sydney vegetarian restaurant Yulli’s, had years ago together cooked up the idea of a sustainable food van serving restaurant-quality fare with an artistic edge.
“I’ve always loved the colourful food vans of international cities — the way they bring people together in the street,” says Osen. “I knew it would be perfect for Sydney’s outdoor lifestyle but for years there was no licence for it.”
When the City of Sydney called for expressions of interest for a program trialling 10 mobile food vans last year, the trio jumped at the opportunity.
After The Veggie Patch was chosen out of 30 applicants, the hard work began transforming an old Winnebago called “Spud” into a model of mobile kitchen sustainability.
“The philosophy of the van is all about sustainability – the design, the energy, the food – we wanted to make every decision as consciously as possible,” says Osen.
The van is powered by renewable energy sources: the diesel engine converted to run on vegetable oil from the deep fryer, and solar panels on the roof powering the fridge and small appliances.
Building materials were sourced from recycled materials that would otherwise have gone to landfill, such as secondhand stainless steel for the kitchen and old fence palings for the wooden exterior.
With their current focus on jewellery and stationery design, Osen concedes it has been a steep learning curve for her and Swift.
“We’re experienced with using different materials but never on this scale, so there were some challenges. Originally we wanted to have a rooftop herb garden before we realised that the solar panels needed to cover the entire roof, so we settled on a vertical garden instead.”
In keeping with the sustainable philosophy, the vegetarian menu will change constantly, according to what can be sourced locally. The van’s aesthetic, a barnhouse surrounded by a veggie patch, is a nod to this idea.
“We were inspired by the ‘paddock to plate’ movement, which connects growers to diners. All food will be sourced from NSW farms and a chalkboard will show where the ingredients were grown,” says Osen.
The Veggie Patch has been a significant investment in time and money for Osen, who has had to put TMOD designs on the backburner.
“It’s been a challenge to juggle the time and not affect TMOD. But being a second business, I haven’t been too shocked when things have taken longer and were more challenging and complex than originally thought. Luckily we’re all people who like to extend ourselves and keep busy.”
A fourth business partner will oversee the day-to-day running of the van, leaving Osen and Swift to capitalise on the cross-promotion opportunities between the businesses.
“The cross-promotion has already been beneficial for both TMOD and Yulli’s. TMOD designed the compostable packaging and the uniforms. We’re planning on selling merchandise such as trucker hats and breadboards through the van too,” says Osen.
With an initial trial opening three nights a week, customers can track The Veggie Patch’s whereabouts via Twitter or Facebook, and soon on an upcoming Sydney City council smartphone app that provides a real-time map of all mobile food vans and menus.
After a year-long trial, the council will decide if the vans become a permanent fixture.
Osen is confident The Veggie Patch will meet her team’s vision of a social enterprise with a successful “triple bottom-line”: promoting sustainability, supporting farmers and delivering profit.
“We’ve already got over 1500 followers on Twitter and are booked up with events and functions. It’s something new and different and exciting. It reflects the lifestyle and culture of Sydney as well as the growing interest in sustainable food choices.”
Osen says the food-van trend is not confined to Sydney and hopes the Veggie Patch might sprout in other locations.
