Food trucks are gaining popularity in Los Angeles and leading the food truck culture, but the working environment for food truck workers is so poor that they are exposed to serious disease risks.
The food trucks lined up around La Brea on Wilshire Road near town are very popular with Mid-Wilshire office workers and tourists, giving a glimpse into LA’s food truck culture.
Food trucks, where you can enjoy authentic street food at a low cost, have become popular in Los Angeles, and food trucks are scattered everywhere. However, workers working in food trucks have been found to be exposed to serious diseases as they work in cramped spaces and poorly ventilated environments.
According to a report released by UCLA, food truck workers in Los Angeles are at high risk of suffering from diseases caused by high heat because they always work in cramped spaces full of heat, regardless of the outside temperature. Even if the outside temperature is relatively chilly at around 60 degrees, the temperature around the grill inside the food truck rises up to 100 degrees.
The temperature around the truck grill is usually about 35 degrees higher, and the temperature inside the food truck heated up by using the grill increases over time. Even after this, it doesn’t cool down much.
Because of this, employees working at food trucks have been found to suffer from headaches, nosebleeds, dizziness, dehydration, nausea, and vomiting while working.
In order to improve the working environment inside food trucks, it is essential to lower the temperature of the food trucks, but it is not as easy as you might think.
According to current regulations, air conditioners in food trucks are installed away from employees because the priority is to prevent food at room temperature from spoiling, so they are of little help to workers. Another problem is that the back door of the truck must always be closed to prevent insects from entering the food truck, so heat is trapped inside the truck and cannot escape to the outside.
There is also a way to install a screen door instead of a door, but this is not feasible because it violates hygiene regulations.
It turns out that low-income workers of colour are suffering the most from the poor working conditions of food trucks.