Cries of "Food, here comes the food," echoed through a Bangkok neighborhood as Wannapa Yarnsarn's truck arrived with everything from mangoes and dried chillies to fresh pork for sale.

People emerged from homes where they have been sheltering in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, choosing their shopping from display racks packed with bags of produce on the back of the truck.

For generations such mobile shops were common in Thai neighborhoods but new shopping malls with their big supermarkets and convenience stores with microwave-ready meals have nearly driven them out of business.