When you are pressed for time between classes, you need food, fast, but not fast food. This is where Food Moves comes in. Food Moves is a new app that aims to revolutionize the food truck industry by connecting food vendors directly to their customers. It includes a platform for real-time tracking of food trucks and vendors across the city, directions to their location for the day and an updated menu. CEO Joel Cettina sat down with WSN to talk about what it’s like to develop a startup, and about Food Moves’ signature scavenger hunts for free food, called Free Food Fridays.

WSN: You’ve spearheaded numerous startups in several fields such as education, fitness and even social media. Why did you choose to venture into the food industry and how did you come up with the concept?

Cettina: I was watching television when I felt the sudden urge to reform the food truck scene. I went online to validate the idea — is there anybody doing anything about it? Is anybody thinking the way I’m thinking? I was frustrated and shocked at the information available that was either incomplete, wrong or outdated. It was crazy how there was no solution to finding food trucks who are constantly moving around; it was then when the idea of creating a real-time food locator struck me.

WSN: The app does have a catchy mantra — “if your Food Moves, we’ll find it.” Could you elaborate more on that?

Cettina: I think that food trucks are great for working professionals and college students. It’s these kind of people that we want to make the process easier for because we know that finding a food truck can get difficult. Whatever you’re craving for that day, you can find it with us. We’re going to help you order your food, have it delivered right to your place and let you know where your favorite food trucks are.

WSN: What will surprise NYU students most is that you aren’t giving away bite-sized portions, but fully-sized sandwiches, an entire basket of dumplings and donuts for dessert! How did you to gather all these vendors to partake in this event?

Cettina: The food trucks were really excited about connecting with their customers and learning how they can do that better. What was really important to us was not changing the way they operate in order to allow them to run their game just as any other day. We also gave them a very small budget so that they could stretch it and serve as many people as they can. We love food as much as everyone else so we didn’t want to just give our foodies a taste, but rather a portion that will satisfy them.

Free Food Friday will be held on Friday, Oct. 7 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at various locations throughout New York City. To join the hunt for free food, download the app and present your unique code when ordering to receive a free meal.

Email Paggie Tan Wan Qi at [email protected].