Saskatoon Foodtruck Wars vendors feel pinch of inflation

The sound of deep-fryer sizzling has never been so expensive for Jacko Garcia.

The owner of the Winnipeg-based The Churro Stop is in Saskatoon for the ninth annual Foodtruck Wars.

After eight years of operations, he says this year been his most challenging year yet as vital ingredients like flour continue to cost more.

"It was around $15 a bag, and now it's $36 a bag. That's in a year," he said.

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Those costs are eating into Garcia's bottom line, and it's forcing him to get creative with his menu. With little appetite to sharply raise prices and pass more costs on to his customers, he felt his hand was forced to include taxes to now charge a flat rate for each item this summer, with some items costing $1.50 more.

"You really look at all your numbers to see what's worth even making anymore," he said. "All my empanadas are the same price, but some I don't make money on and some I do."

Other items like fresh produce are costing Garcia up to 40 per cent more, putting more emphasis on having a successful year for The Churro Stop.

Foodtruck Wars organizer Rick Mah says customers going through the festival will notice some higher prices.

"It is challenging, whether you have a brick and mortar restaurant or a restaurant on wheels...we're all facing the same challenges. They shop at the same grocery store as you," Mah said of the prices from some of his vendors.

Marcy Ellis runs Biggar Bites, where produce, dairy, meat, and pretty much anything she cooks with has gone up in price.

"Fresh vegetables, fresh fruit have sky rocketed. So yeah, it's a tough one. Who gets that? Who recovers that cost?"

Well, in some cases, it's not Ellis because she's decided not to increase her prices.

"My feeling is people only have so much money at the end of the day. So I would hope that you could come and still enjoy an evening out. Maybe buy one and share it," she said.

Cooking oil that used to cost $19 now costs $46 dollars. With shrinkflation, what used to cost $20 dollars is still priced the same, but product now weighs half as much, especially with drought expected to impact beef prices.

"You would think they're just going to keep going up with the price of hay and what not, there's going to a be shortage in beef, and it's going to keep going up," Ellis said.

Even with some items costing more, Mah says the festival is expanding. After beginning with just 11 food trucks nine years ago in Sutherland, Foodtruck Wars has moved to Riversdale and then to its current site across from City Hall since then. With roughly 27 vendors this year, Mah is looking for another site to accommodate the 10 to 15 trucks that want to join the battle next year.

"We're at kind of another breaking point," he said. "Do we keep it the same size or do we grow some more?"

"I think we'll be moving our festival to another site."

As costs continue to increase, Garcia and Ellis say that's why an event like Foodtruck Wars is so important.

Thousands of customers coming to one place can be the difference between eating up profits or closing up for good.