One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
County to Finalize Food Truck Letter Grading System Next Week
Fry Smith visits Sherman Oaks | Photo by polaroid-girl via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr
Fry Smith visits Sherman Oaks | Photo by polaroid-girl via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors this week approved the expansion of its letter grading system for (.pdf) food establishments to include food trucks and carts. That means your favorite mobile eatery could soon be displaying an acceptable "A," a bummer of a "B," or a cautious "C."
But a number of things must first happen before this actually is a reality. Because ordinances must be voted upon twice, a second vote is scheduled (.pdf) for next Tuesday. If approved -- and that is expected -- it will then become law 30 days later.
Meanwhile, city councils in each of the county's 88 cities must then adopt the ordinance to make it law within their jurisdictions, thus allowing health inspectors to enforce the regulation (unincorporated areas like Marina Del Rey and Alatadena will automatically have it go into effect). In theory, there could be a patchwork of laws, where for example food trucks would have to display a letter grade in Los Angeles, but not in neighboring Burbank. That, however, is not a likely scenario as county officials expect all cities to follow suit.
Also, come mid-November when letter grades officially apply to mobile eateries, don't expect to see them hanging in windows right then. Inspections will have to take place in some 3,200 food trucks, a process that's expected to take through the end of next June. Then comes phase two: inspecting the estimated 2,800 food carts throughout the county (watch out, bacon-wrapped hot dogs!).
The new ordinance also establishes an annual certification inspection for food equipment and, most interestingly of all, a requirement for owners to detail the whereabouts of their mobile eatery, including "the arrival, departure and exact location... where the retail food business is being conducted."
How that last regulation will exactly work has not been detailed in county documents, but it could put a hamper on the spontaneity of how mobile eateries operate. In general, however, the concept of letter grades has been welcomed by operators.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
