Harrison Street Taco Truck Corrupts Youth, Deemed Illegal

The Mission: Two weeks ago, the cops shut down the iconic El Tonayense taco truck that has rested at the corner of Harrison and 19th since 1994. At the time, no real reasons were given, and the truck was back in business by the next day, but today's City Star (flip to page six) sheds some light on the situation:

Last year, city officials passed a law prohibiting "mobile food vendors" from peddling their wares within 1,500 feet of any school to complement the "wellness policy"

But it's not the school that is complaining; in fact the principal of O'Connell High eats lunch there regularly. It's a parents' group that is "partly responsible" for crafting a "wellness policy" that somehow doesn't include taco trucks:

Caroline Grannan, a member of the Student Nutrition Council, a group of parent and teachers partly responsible for the Wellness Policy, said effort to get the law enforced and the truck removed have been "stonewalled."

Grannan said having a food vendor so close to a school hurts the cafeteria, which loses money to the vendor and also hurts the students by creating two distinct "classes" of students: those who can afford to buy their lunches off-site and those who cannot.

And it's flat-out illegal.

The principal added that only select seniors are allowed off-campus, and even then, nothing prevents them from going to the corner store for candy, soda, or any other "unwell" food items. The City Star even staked out the taco trucks for students for a few days, and not one frequented the hallowed truck.

And of all things that create high school class wars, we're thinking that dollar tacos probably aren't first on the list, and as the article points out, the Mission has bigger problems. But since the truck is technically illegal, the matter is going to the Board of Supes.
· Mission Taco Truck Vendor Told to Take Hike [City Star]
· EaterWire: Harrison/19th Taco Truck Shut Down [~ESF~]

[Photo: Flickr/maubrowncow]