Stafford Township, NJ Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

Section 155-10 of the Stafford Township Code sets the operating rules for the business of vending once a vendor holds a permit under Chapter 155. Vending can be conducted between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., and every vending unit must be off the streets and sidewalks of the Township between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Ice cream vendors can operate until 8:00 p.m. from May 20 through September 20. Subsection B requires all vending units to be mobile, and Subsection D bars leaving any vending unit or motor vehicle unattended, for any reason, on the streets or sidewalks.

Housekeeping duties follow. Under subsection E, every vendor selling food or beverages must have a litter receptacle available for public use and must collect and take away all litter and refuse on leaving the location. Subsection F requires all materials and merchandise related to the vending business to be located on the vending unit, and Subsection G bars offering any merchandise other than what is described in the vendor's registration.

Food vendors face two more layers. The permit process requires proof of an Ocean County food handler's license where applicable (§ 155-4C). Chapter 223 then requires a Township license to operate a mobile retail food establishment: § 223-7A sets a charge of $100 for each license, and § 223-7B conditions issuance on written approval of the facilities from the Ocean County Board of Health. Section 223-8 defines a mobile food unit as any movable restaurant, truck, van, trailer, cart, bicycle or other movable unit, including hand-carried portable containers, and makes those units subject to Township inspection whenever the Township deems it necessary. Distance limits from schools, houses of worship and other vendors sit in the same § 155-10.