The Nomad Food Cart was developed for the The Stop’s annual Night Market in Toronto. Bringing together over 50 restaurants and 50 design teams, the competition calls for the design of a transportable food cart derived from precedents across international markets. As an event and organization The Stop’s mission is to increase access to food worldwide with their annual Night Market serving as a means to spread awareness and raise money for the cause. The design brief emphasizes the creation of a mobile and flexible design incorporating recycled/salvaged materials. Our response was to develop a grid structure which houses shelving and storage that can become extra serving/ preparation surfaces, seating, tables, signage, etc. As a main feature, our cart is composed of modular storage units made from reused milk crates, nested inside this structure. The slotted vertical members allow the tabletop placement and heights to be adjusted per section or as a whole, allowing for countless arrangement possibilities.

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These crates can be arranged to form a continuous counter top, display signage, store food items or tools, be raised to varying heights, used to serve food directly (i.e. ice cream, buffet, etc.), be used as seating or tables when placed on the ground, or even store living plants as a kind of “mobile farm”. The counter tops and modular crate units are completely separate from each other, so when the crates are used as tables or seats the counter top remains totally intact. The entire frame is also composed of wood from shipping crates, completing the material economy theme of our design. Additionally, our design incorporates a collapsible canopy of stretched and painted canvas created by Toronto designers Mark Francis and Josimar Dominguez. When stationary, four collapsible legs are engaged to keep the cart in place. Our design incorporates 100% salvaged materials which would otherwise be thrown away.

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