Truck Troubles

Truck Troubles

By: Eli Locke

Sentry Staff Reporter

According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, a tragedy is defined as an event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress. Apart from destruction, one tragedy in recent weeks in our school has certainly caused suffering and distress in the lunchroom. No, it is not that the lines at the microwaves are too long, even though this can be frustrating from time to time. It is not that the doors to the outside are constantly opened and no one wants to sit at the tables near the door when it gets cold, either, although for some this is an insurmountable problem. This time around, it is the unfortunate end of our beloved food trucks.

For freshmen, new students or other students that simply were never customers of the food trucks, it may be hard to grasp why so many fellow Patriots are up in arms about the recent county-wide ordinance passed by the county board that has now outlawed the food trucks from parking close to the lunchroom and serving students. However, for many more tenured students, the food trucks were certainly part of the school’s community and identity.

One of the main questions being raised by students who are annoyed by the banning of the trucks is why the trucks had been allowed to operate in past years. According to Principal Dr. Raymond Pasi, the county has only recently decided to pass the ordinance, and he nor anyone else has a particular reason that this was the year the county decided to kick the food trucks out of their former spots in front of the lunchroom on Yorktown Boulevard.

“Our police officer told them: ‘There’s an ordinance in Arlington, you can’t be out there,’ and so they moved,” noted Pasi.

Pasi also mentioned that he had heard backlash from students complaining about the moving of the trucks. These complaints were also expressed by some on Twitter when the news broke.

“The food trucks have certain kinds of things people like that is not served in the cafeteria,” said Pasi.

The two trucks, known mostly as “Mo’s (operated by a man named Mo, full name on the truck- Mo Softy Ice Cream) and “Raspados” (operated by a man and a woman, full name on the truck- Raspados Tropical), serve goodies ranging from Arizona to zebra cakes. Student favorites include the famed “Hot Dog Combo” , which offers a hot dog with a choice of toppings including chili, cheese, ketchup and mustard, a bag of chips of your selected brand and an eight-ounce soda of your choice. The meal combo is offered at Mo’s for $2 and Raspados for $2.50. For those looking for dessert and not a full meal, both trucks offer a variety of pre-packaged candy, for example Sour Patch, Reese’s and others. As for specialty items, Mo is known for $3 milkshakes, while Raspados boasts their $2 snow cones.

Many students inserted a trip to the truck into their daily lunch routine. Some hardcore ‘truckers’ even formed relationships with the truck operators and often asked for the ‘regular’, whether it was a daily bag of chips or a weekly Dr. Pepper. For most, however, the trucks were a fantastic option to explore once or twice a month, when the occasional Snickers bar became the perfect antidote to the monotonous grind of the lunchroom, or the occasional Gatorade was able to spice up the daily peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

After the school informed the food trucks they were no longer allowed to serve students where they had been serving, what many students feared but never wanted to face ended up happening regardless- the trucks packed up and moved. For years, the truck operators would come early to park outside the school on Yorktown Boulevard in regular vehicles. Then, as third period would come to an end, they would swap their parked cars for their trucks and serve students throughout all three lunch periods. On early release days, the lines at the trucks swelled due to the shortened lunch periods; on rainy days, only the hungriest customers ventured out to the trucks.

Students trek all the way out to the athletic fields to pay the trucks a final visit. Photo by Libby Boda
Students trek all the way out to the athletic fields to pay the trucks a final visit.
Photo by Libby Boda

After being moved from the front of the school, both trucks moved from their old spots to a new spot, in which they serve students by parking near the entrance to Greenbrier Stadium. Mo’s truck has not made an appearance in any spot recently, and the Raspidos truck still comes to the new spot on most days. Many students have additionally noted the trucks are exploring new markets as it has been reported that they now serve students at H-B Woodlawn when the school gets out.

Over time, it is likely that table talk reminiscing about the trucks will die down and vending machines will slowly become the norm to utilize for an extra snack to add to your lunch (if the trucks are eventually evicted from their new spot, which is possible). But for those who remember and were customers of the food trucks, the daily banter of when to go to the truck and which truck to go to will be dearly missed.

 

Featured image by Libby Boda

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