Food trucks have been popular for some time now in the Valley, but on April 13 a new class of diner will get to partake of the trend.

Why quibble about where to eat this weekend when you’ll have 50 food trucks to choose from at Salt River Fields? Food Network Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian will give a cooking demo beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday. Adam Richman, of The Travel Channel’s “Man vs. Food” will take the stage with local chef Aaron May at noon Sunday. Five themed bars will be stationed throughout the grounds, with live music from School of Rock. There will also be a Kids Zone.

Run-of-the-mill lunch trucks they are not.

Run-of-the-mill lunch trucks they are not.

Run-of-the-mill lunch trucks they are not.

This is shaping up to be one of those glorious weekends in which the Valley really is our oyster. The weather forecast calls for temps in the mid-80s, and there’s a glut of fun stuff going on to ensure you get out and enjoy yourself.

Ford Motor Company and Newman's Own awarded a refrigerated Ford F-550 to Mesa's United Food Bank last week.

Bartering, one of the oldest forms of business, seems to be finding its way back in the East Valley as local businesses use the time-worn exchange of goods and services for locally grown food.

The much-buzzed-about gourmet food trucks that seem to orbit mostly around Phoenix will inch eastward this weekend for the Street Eats Food Truck Festival, hosted by Food Network chef Tyler Florence.

The sign may say “Ralph’s Snack Bar,” but make no mistake: The lunch truck bouncing around south Scottsdale on weekdays is all about Sonia Gonzalez.

A charity car and truck show is planned for Saturday in Chandler to benefit the city's Acts of Kindness Program.

When word got out through social media a few weeks ago that thieves had taken the tailgate right off a United Food Bank pickup truck in a Mesa parking lot, the community came together to make sure the vehicle’s cargo would be safe and sound on the Valley streets.

Deflation has finally come to the Arizona shopping cart. New figures from the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation find that, on average, the cost of food from grocery stores in the state is about 20 percent less than it was a year ago.

Scanning for signs of clandestine food peddling, Maricopa County inspector Mark Tom spots his target: A grocery cart being loaded into a late-model white van.