A Portrait of Some DC Food Trucks Amidst the Government Shutdown

October 9, 2013 - Being a photographer and making connections gives me different opportunities and experiences. In the early evening of October 8th I received a message from someone from Peru, who was referred to me from an artist friend in the DC area. I was asked to take pictures for The Republic of Peru as they wanted to do a newspaper article "showing how the government shutdown has affected the food trucks that have become representative of the city."

It was interesting that people from Peru would be interested in the DC Food Truck scene, but then I imagine the U.S. is in the world news a lot anyway and people are intrigued. There's also the American Dream that people from other countries envision when coming to America. I visited Peru many years ago on a humanitarian mission and was fascinated by the country and it's culture. I was glad for the reminder of Peru and glad to be able to contribute to a better understanding of the DC Food Truck scene. 

I personally enjoy watching shows about cooking and food such as Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, MasterChef, Restaurant Impossible, and others. I recently saw a show in which Chef Spike Mendelsohn hosted and moderated a show giving people a chance to compete to win their very own food truck. It's certainly a dream for some people, whether they've trained toward the goal of working in a food truck or whether they decided to switch careers to work in the food truck industry. 

For the newspaper, they wanted pictures of the food truck owners and/or employees and their trucks. They needed the photos for publication on Friday, so in looking at my schedule I figured it was best to go and take pictures on Wednesday. Basically I got the assignment one evening and was on the assignment the next day. The Food Truck Fiesta website is a great website to track food trucks in DC in real-time with commentary, and I downloaded the Food Truck Fiesta app for my phone. I decided to drive my car to DC with my bicycle on my bike rack. I felt it was best to drive around to various areas, then bike to specific locations. My first stop was L'Enfant Plaza where there were food trucks along a couple sidewalks.

 

 
As I talked to food truck owners and employees and the state of their food truck businesses during the government shutdown, I could see how their business has been adversely affected. With a sizable lack of customers because of the shutdown, there is a lack of business. It seems hard enough as it is for some trucks to do well, and then some fare better than others. Cooking and serving food is just one aspect of the food truck job, and there's a lot that goes into getting the ingredients, preparation of the food, operating the truck and marketing/promoting the food truck. The web and social media plays a important role in keeping customers in the know with the roving food trucks. 

Another issue is with parking on the street and the risk of getting tickets for overstaying the 2-hour parking limit on the street. It seems silly to have to keep moving trucks in two-hour time frames, when the trucks are trying to provide a service to customers and providing a variety of food and drink. The regulations create designated food truck spots around the city for specific trucks with a buffer distance of 200 feet. Food trucks are required to have 6 feet of unobstructed sidewalk space adjacent to their parking spaces and meters don't count.  The same amount of sidewalk space is required from cafes and brick-and-mortar restaurants. The fine for food trucks who go over their parking meter time limit has been reduced from a hefty amount down to $50, yet fines will double for each repeated infraction. New regulations have been passed over the Summer which should make things easier for food truck operators. 

 

 

 
So with all those restrictions, it seems to make food truck operation somewhat of a hassle. Consider the food and drink to be acquired. Although trucks don't move too often, gas for these large trucks is still a cost factor. Imagine having to vie for a parking spot among other food trucks next to you and in certain spots in an area. Consider the window of time these food trucks operate, especially considering the biggest peak time is during lunch hours. Of course the weather is a factor. It was overcast the day I took these pictures and it rained all day the next day.

 

 

 

 

 
In addition to L'Enfant Plaza, I was able to visit Farragut West and near Union Station. By late afternoon some food trucks packed up and went home. I hope things get better soon for the food truck businesses as I'd like to see them continue serving customers. Every food truck person has a story. The food truck owners and their employees are trying to survive and support themselves and families. I'm sure to patronize many of these food trucks in the future along with many others to keep food truck dreams alive.