Taco Truck Towed Away from Underclassmen

Tacos+are+as+close+to+heaven+as+we+will+ever+get+to+on+Earth

Victoria Diaz

Tacos are as close to heaven as we will ever get to on Earth

The 2016-2017 school year has been the year of change, and even the way we eat lunch has been subject to drastic change. Our beloved hour long lunch was cut to only 40 minutes, and the food truck, the best alternative to school lunch for underclassmen, was taken away from us.

The lines weren’t very long, and it offered some relief from the stampede of 1,000 hungry students going to the cafeteria. Beating the lunchroom rush made waiting for the food truck almost magical. I’d get to wait under the smiling Texas sun, and enjoy the calm cool breeze that would blow through and spread the smell of smoke from the BBQ sandwiches. The long walk past the tennis courts back to school made getting a soda or two quesadillas guilt free. There were always a variety of options. Hamburgers, sandwiches, and quesadillas are only a few examples of the treats the truck had to offer. Everything made me feel full and was cheap. For $5 you could enjoy a nice hamburger, a bag of chips, and an ice cold drink. Unlike the high-priced vending machines, buying snacks and drinks from the truck made my wallet smile.

The food truck phenomenon has been successful at our campus, Anderson, and in Pflugerville ISD. Pflugerville’s truck was able to solve the long lunch lines that were caused by overcrowding. Anderson’s truck, Nacho Average Food Truck, is able to teach about healthy eating in a real life setting. Even though both of the trucks were created with different purposes in mind, they have become extremely popular among the students at each campus and have generated lots of revenue. Each truck is now considered a staple of its school.

Taking away our truck is not only a travesty, but it denies us of our natural born right to food. It goes against the district’s mission to reinvent the urban school experience and also shows how little of a voice the student body actually has. Student Council and the Maroon News has done a good job at voicing some of the concerns, but as of now, there is no efficient way for students who are not involved in either of the organizations to participate in the conversation about the changes in our school. I believe that if we could see the reasoning behind the orders that we are forced to blindly follow, faith and trust in the administration will be regained.

Our food truck does not put us in any danger. We can handle the responsibility of safely walking to and from the end of the senior parking lot. One can even make the case that the truck makes lunch safer. It is the closest alternative to school lunch which eliminates the need for students to sneak off campus. Running through the brush to sneak off campus can lead to scrapes, broken bones, and can even make a student late to their next class. Allowing us to walk to the truck will keep the underclassmen safe and on campus the entire school day.