By business · Food and drink

Instagram auto-replies for food trucks

Nobody can find a truck that has moved. The messages are always the same: where are you today, are you at the market on Sunday, can you cater my wedding? Comment-to-DM sends the pitch, the route and the hire details while you are at the hatch. Below: words, four set-ups, freebies and what to check.

Updated 6 October 2026

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Comment words for food trucks

Ask people to comment one word in your caption or video. Each word sends something different.

WHERE: Today's pitch with the address or a landmark, the opening hours there, when you expect to sell out and what to do if you are closed for weather.
WEEK: The week's route by day, with the town, the pitch and the hours, so regulars can plan a lunch around where the truck will be.
HIRE: How to hire the truck for a wedding, party or works event: the guest range, the menu options, the fee or minimum spend and how far you travel.
MENU: The truck's menu with prices, the dishes that change by event and which items can be made vegetarian or vegan on the day.
PREORDER: How to order ahead for a lunch pickup: the time slots, the order cut-off, where to collect from the hatch and how people pay.
FESTIVAL: A pitch pack for event organisers: your set-up size, power needs, menu, insurance statement and the dates you still have free.
ALLERGEN: Your allergen guide for the menu, with a clear note that the team checks any specific need at the hatch before an order is taken.

4 set-ups to try

Each one shows the conversation it creates. After a comment, the first DM is plain text, as Meta requires, and the link follows once they answer.

Today's pitch from a morning Story
Replied to your story
WHEREGood to hear from you. Are you after lunch today or planning for later in the week? Reply and I'll send where we are, the hours and what's still on the menu.Today's pitch and hoursFind the truck
A truck's location is the most-asked fact and the one that changes daily. The today-or-later answer decides whether to send the live pitch or the weekly route, and the Story reply means they wrote to you first.
Event hire from a wedding or party Reel
Someone comments on your post
HIRE
Public reply under their comment
Hire details are in your DMs 🚚
First DM (plain text)
Thanks, we'd love to hear more. What's the date, roughly how many guests and which town is it in? Reply with those and I'll send the options and how booking works.Yes pleaseHire the truck: options and feesSee hire options
A truck can only be in one place on a Saturday, so the date comes first. The town and the guest number show whether it is within your range and whether one hatch can serve a crowd that size.
Pitch applications from event organisers
FESTIVALThanks for thinking of us. What's the event, which dates and roughly how many visitors do you expect? Reply and I'll send our pitch pack and what we need from the site.Organisers: our pitch packOpen the pack
Organisers send the same questions to a dozen traders and book the first complete answer. A pitch pack with your size, power and paperwork gets you in the pile, and the footfall they give you shows if the fee is worth the day.
Lunchtime pre-orders from a menu post
Someone comments on your post
PREORDER
Public reply under their comment
Pre-order steps are in your DMs 🌮
First DM (plain text)
Good plan, it saves the queue. What time would you like to collect, and is there anything you can't eat? Reply and I'll send how to order and where to find the hatch.Yes pleaseOrder ahead for pickupPre-order
Lunch is a short window, and a pickup time smooths it for the team. The dietary question brings allergies up before they pay, not at the hatch, and you reply to those yourself.

Freebies worth commenting for

The weekly route as a one-page calendar, with the pitch and opening hours for each day
A pitch pack for organisers: set-up footprint, power needs, menu, insurance statement and free dates
A party menu pack with three catering options and a price per head for a hire
A wedding-evening food guide: how many portions to plan for per guest and how the service runs
An allergen chart for the whole menu, dated, to save on a phone
A secret-menu card for people who join the email list, with one item not on the board
A first-order discount code for lunchtime regulars
A loyalty card you can save to the phone, with a free item after a set number of visits

What people ask a food truck in DMs

A truck has no shopfront, so its DMs are its front window. Questions arrive in bursts: the lunch rush, the morning of a market and the evenings when someone plans a party.

They ask	Send automatically	You answer when
Where are you today?	The WHERE reply with the pitch and hours	The truck has moved or broken down and plans have changed
Are you at the market on Sunday?	The WEEK route	A date is not yet confirmed with the organiser
Can you cater my wedding?	The HIRE options and the pitch pack	Always: the date, guests and venue need a quote
Is anything vegan?	The MENU page with the vegan options	A dish needs adapting at the hatch
Do you take cards?	A line in the MENU reply on how people can pay	The card machine is down that day
Can I order ahead?	The PREORDER steps and the slots	A big group order needs more notice

Tip: Post the day's pitch to your Stories before you open, and put the reply word on it. The best-used message a truck sends is the one answering where it is right now.

Posts that earn comments from the hatch

A slow pan across the board and the first order of the day, with WHERE for today's pitch.
A Reel of the truck being set up at 7 a.m. at a new site, with WEEK so regulars can follow the route.
A trailer of the evening service at a wedding, with HIRE for the options and the minimum spend.
A close-up of one dish being assembled, with MENU for the full list and prices.
A Story the day before a festival, naming the pitch, with a reply word for the opening hours.
A stack of orders waiting in a row, with PREORDER for people who want to skip the queue.

Trucks live by season and weather. Spring to autumn brings festivals, markets and weddings. Winter often means regular sites, offices and warm food. Rain or a closed road can end a day, so the WHERE reply is worth updating each morning. Test each word from a second account before the Story goes up.

Hire enquiries and organiser requests

The first DM asks for the date, headcount and town in a single message, so a hire quote is one reply away.
The card opens your hire or pitch page. DMFast cannot check your diary or your permits, so keep dates up to date on the page and say plainly that a booking is not confirmed until you reply.
Capture emails on the pitch pack and the party menu, then export them as a CSV, so a lead is still on your list after the festival season.
Say which weeks are full. Update the first message so a late request hears about your next free date.

Selling from India? The DMFast store can sell a recipe booklet as a digital product, give a lead magnet in return for an email, and take paid or free 1-on-1 bookings, such as a menu tasting for a client. Payments go through Razorpay. Meals themselves are sold at your hatch or through your own ordering page.

Things a truck should check

Permits. Street trading, mobile food registration, fire and gas safety, and insurance rules differ by city and country, and often by event. Check them for every pitch and keep copies for organisers.
Allergens. Customers expect an honest answer at the hatch, and many countries require the main allergens to be available on request. Do not let an automatic reply declare a dish safe.
Location posts. Naming a pitch publicly invites a crowd, so check you hold the permission for that spot before you post it.
Prices at events. Event prices often differ from your regular pitch. Say so in the reply, so nobody is surprised.
Weather. Decide what you will tell people if a storm cancels the day, and put it in the WHERE reply.
Limits. Each comment gets one private reply within 7 days, and the account allows up to 750 an hour. DMFast stays under 700.

Messages to copy

Questions people ask

Can it tell people where the truck is right now?

It sends the page or message you set, so it is only as current as you keep it. Change the WHERE message or card each morning, and post the pitch in a Story. DMFast does not read GPS or any live location.

Can customers pay for a pre-order through the DM?

Not through DMFast for food. The card opens the ordering or payment page you already use. In India, the store can take payments for digital products, bookings and lead magnets through Razorpay, but not for hot food.

How do I handle festival organisers who message all at once?

Use the FESTIVAL word on a DM keyword so anyone who writes it gets your pitch pack and the questions you need answered. You then pick the events by hand. Keep the pack current with your free dates and what each pitch requires.

I have two trucks and one account. Can I use it for both?

One Instagram account can run both, with different words for each, such as WHERE1 and WHERE2, or a single route page that lists both trucks. A separate account for each truck needs the Pro plan, which covers three accounts.

Does it work on a Facebook Page for events?

Yes. Comments on your Page's posts and Messenger messages can get the same keyword replies, and event groups on Facebook are a common source of hire enquiries. Story replies and “Only send to followers” exist on Instagram only.

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Answer every HIRE comment in seconds

Pick a post and the word. DMFast replies under each comment, sends the DM and follows with your link once they answer, day and night. It can collect emails on the way. Free plan, no card.

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