El Tonayense Taco Truck School’d!
The plot thickens! According to Eater SF and the City Star, the *school* is complaining about the El Tonayense truck on Harrison and 19th. The city sups and the ever-wily SEIU (Service Employee Int’l Union) looks to be involved as well.
Apparently the proximity of the taco truck to O’Connell High creates two classes of students, have (tacos) and have-not (tacos), and somehow puts the school lunch program in jeopardy.
Burrito Justice’s Verdict? DENIED:
- The truck was there before the school.
- Only seniors can go off campus for lunch
- The principal himself goes to the truck for lunch
- According to the City Star, NO students went to the taco truck.
And here’s an interesting new city law:
- 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”
While Burrito Justice’s experience with school lunches harkens back to Reagan Administration era “ketchup is a vegetable” and mountains of government cheese, we strongly suspect that quality of school food has not improved greatly and let’s face it, El Tonayense has quality tacos. In fact, we declare that El Tonayense IMPROVES the city’s “wellness policy” especially if “pizza day” is still the same as it was.
In fact, EaterSF suggested the school contract out school lunches to El Tonayense a day or two a week. The parent running the program enforcing the “wellness” policy blames the SEIU and USDA bureaucracy.
The real tragedy here? NONE of the kids were even going to the taco truck. This highlights a travesty in critical thinking skills of the seniors in that school. Oh, and say the kids WERE hitting the truck — would moving three blocks away really stop them?
A taco denied is justice denied. Viva la Justicia del Burrito!
Burrito Justice 
Taco trucks are not as clean as your school cafeterias. first of, the truck gives the wrong impression to this community. What’s next?, a hot dog vendor, it is not appropriate and we need boundaries. Yes, this is a school where the cafeteria may need improvement so then student shouldn’t pay the price for eating high calorie foods cooked in high fats. The tortilla is heated wiht lard!!! yes, no denying its delicious yet not a healthy option for a child. Parents need to know that what schools are offering is adequate for the child yet tacos are not the solution to the problem!! El tonayense needs to relocate to a place that is appropriate for the type of bussiness. School residence shoule not be for selling tacos or burritos. period
Maria, the taco trucks in San Antonio where you’re posting from may use lard to heat their tortillas, but El Tonayense doesn’t. It wouldn’t be the most popular truck in the city if they cooked that way. I don’t even think they use lard at all to cook. (Is lard even legal in California anymore??)
This is a poorly written, impractical ruling that ignores the fact that
a) few if any kids can even leave the school for lunch,
b) the ones who can leave don’t go to the truck, instead going to any number of restaurants or stores in the area
c) the Committee doesn’t go after the ice cream trucks that sit outside the school entrance.
It’s the board of supervisors that’s giving the wrong impression to the community, not the taco truck.
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