Investigative News: Philadelphia Food Trucks

The following was written for an assignment for a class called "Investigative Journalism" in Winter 2021-2022.

Please note there were certain formats and content criteria for this assignment.

In this particular assignment, I had to investigate a particular topic on my campus, conduct interviews, and write an article fit for a news organization.

Philadelphia Food Truck Owners Face Challenges from the City -- Is Drexel Behind it All?

Year-round, Drexel students are seen waiting in line for food trucks all over campus, waiting to grab a meal in between classes, or even picking up dinner. Behind the scenes, however, food truck owners have been facing legislation after legislation that always seems to want to hinder the operations of mobile food trucks.

Two separate major legislations in the past 8 years have attempted to create new rules for food truck owners to follow– especially on Drexel’s campus. One bill in 2015 proposed to create a specific district on campus for mobile vending but would require trucks to remain stationary, essentially negating the idea of a mobile food truck.

The bill was introduced by Councilmember Jannie Blackwell and would create an official Drexel University District with a whole list of new rules, including an annual $2,750 fee equal to the cost of parking in the same space for five days a week for 52 weeks per year. At that time, food truck vendors were already just feeding the parking meters, according to Elisa Lala with the Philly Voice.

Blackwell, who introduced the bill at the request of Drexel, actually reconsidered at the “last minute”, according to Jake Blumgart with Whyyy.org when she realized how bad it would be for the “little guy.”

Although not currently working for the city, we reached out to the office of Janice Blackwell but did not hear back.

Then, a bill in 2019 wanted to add a bike lane on Market between 33rd and 34th St and prohibit vending on that block almost entirely– a block which arguably houses the most food trucks in one spot on campus.

The ban was intended to improve public safety and traffic conditions and that vendor would “be able to provide vending services at other locations around Drexel’s campus,” said Drexel Spokesperson Niki Gianakaris.

Councilmember Helen Gym voted against the 2019 bill after vendors testified that the ban would affect not only the business but would put the owner’s livelihood at risk, according to Whyyy.org.

Finally, in March of 2020, Philadelphia became the only jurisdiction in all of Pennsylvania to ban food truck operations during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Julia Klayman with the Daily Pennsylvanian.

With all of this said and done, the city has shown a pattern of not showing much regard for the lives of mobile food truck owners and many of these bills have been proposed by officials at Drexel.

Jessica Caldwell, who first joined forces with her husband Manuel and his brother Gabriel seven years ago to create Dos Hermanos Tacos which parks on Market between 33rd and 34th, manages all of the “back-end” stuff for Dos Hermanos and also co-owns Redstone Pizza which parks on the same block and does similar work there.

Caldwell said she feels that the food truck industry has been on both the city and Drexel’s hit list.

“Honestly in the past, we have not really been supported by Drexel... Their interest in having food trucks on campus has not really been evident in the way that they acted,” she said. “It also bothered us that they were specifically targeting trucks on Market St. because they are the only trucks that tend to leave campus at the end of the day to go back to clean up or whatever,”

Amidst all of these proposed legislations, Caldwell has worked with her friend Matt Rossi who is the President of the Philadelphia Mobile Food Association (PMFA) in campaigning against moving trucks off Market St.

Rossi owns Nick’s Roast Beef, a chain of trucks that parks in various spots around Philadelphia. We reached out to Rossi but were unable to secure a comment. Hopefully, we can work with Drexel going forward,” Caldwell said. “I’m not sure whether the people in charge of that particular situation have changed but we haven’t really seen the same pushback as we have since during the height of the pandemic but, of course, things always change.”

The services that mobile food trucks provide are valuable to many students on campus. From quick bites to reliable meals, may students utilize food trucks often and some every day.

“If anyone took away my Halal, I don’t know, I may go ballistic,” said Anna Bilsky, a 2nd year on the five-year track double majoring in International Business and Marketing.

“The food that the University provides is definitely not great by any means, it seems the only place to get some food sometimes is Chick-Fil-A... The food trucks provide a whole variety of foods that can satisfy any craving I may have,” Bilsky said. “Plus, we’re supporting small businesses, which I absolutely love.”

Food trucks also provide meals to small businesses. Lily Suh is a manager at Boba King, a korean bubble tea shop located on the 3200 block of Chestnut St. Originally from Korea, she came to Philadelphia as an exchange student a couple of years ago. She tends to work mornings, as she’s taking night classes at Temple University and generally gets Halal at least two times a week.

“I like Halal at least two times a week. It’s really really good,” she said.

It’s undeniable that the food trucks that park on Drexel Univeristy are well loved by the student population but on the other hand, the recent legislations from the city have– for the most part– all been proposed by the University. All of this begs the question... does Drexel really want food trucks parked on their campus?