Food Truck Prep Portion Calculator
How many portions to prep for 250, 1,000, or 5,000 attendees — tuned by cuisine, weather, and event type. Standalone tool ships next; the event profit calculator already projects orders and orders-per-hour.
In the meantime, run your numbers in the full event profit calculator — every figure here is shown there too.
Open the event profit calculator →FAQ
How many portions should I prep for 1,000 people?
At an 8% capture rate, 1,000 attendees yields around 80 paid orders. Prep 1.1–1.2× that for buffer (88–96 portions). Adjust capture up for low-competition events and down for festivals with 30+ vendors.
What's the right buffer over expected orders?
10–20% is typical. Higher buffer (up to 30%) for first-time events where attendance is uncertain; lower (10%) for repeats where you have historical sales.
Does the prep portion target change by cuisine?
Yes. Quick-serve items (tacos, sliders) capture more per attendee than entrée-style items (full plates, ramen bowls), so projected orders shift up or down by cuisine.
How do I plan portions for multi-day events?
Forecast each day separately based on its expected attendance, then split prep between commissary prep ahead of time and same-day finishing. Most trucks prep day 1 fully and day 2 to 70% with restock capacity.
What ruins a prep forecast?
Weather swings, programming changes (headliner shifts), competing trucks dropping out or being added, and overestimating capture rate when the event is crowded with similar cuisine.