Food trucks banned from Novato schools

Jan. 10—After a five-year battle, Miguel Villarreal, director of food and nutritional services at the Novato Unified School District, has accomplished his goal to prevent food trucks from selling "junk food" to his students. In December, the city council passed an ordinance that bans mobile vendors within 1,500 feet of any district school an hour before the school day begins until an hour after the school day ends.

"This is something we've been working on for a long time," Villarreal says about the ordinance. "We were trying to work with the city do do away with, or whatever you want to call it, the junk food vendors who are pulling right up to our high school and middle schools. That's a major accomplishment for us."

Villarreal says the food trucks were offering items that hindered the district's ability to provide a healthy food environment for its students. Student safety was another concern.

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