The food truck craze that started last year in downtown Huntsville may be expanding to one of the city's main employment centers.

A proposal unveiled at Wednesday's city zoning committee meeting would allow food trucks to serve lunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays in Cummings Research Park and the adjacent Thornton Research Park.

The Cummings Research Park director surveyed defense and aerospace companies last fall about food trucks. More than 90 percent wanted their employees to have the option of a grab-and-go lunch nearby, said Huntsville Manager of Planning Services Jim McGuffey.

"The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, as long as (the city) managed the security issues," McGuffey said Wednesday.

The main concern: food truck customers wandering into research park businesses to use the bathroom.

Food trucks have quickly become a Huntsville obsession. A series of downtown street food rallies last year drew massive crowds. But for now, the 29,000-plus people who work in Cummings Research Park cannot walk outside and buy a food truck lunch.

The proposed zoning change still needs the blessing of both the Huntsville Planning Commission and City Council. The planning board has scheduled a public hearing for its Tuesday, April 28, meeting.

Planning Director Michelle Jordan said food trucks would have to get permission from research park businesses to set up in their parking lots.