Supervisors advance ordinance to bar catering trucks within 1,500 feet of middle and high schools

San Francisco’s Government Audits and Oversight Committee on Monday advanced an ordinance that would prohibit operators of mobile catering vehicles from selling food within 1,500 feet of public middle and high schools. Chair Sean Ellsburn opened the item and presenters from the school district and public-health coalitions urged the committee to send the measure to the full Board of Supervisors.

The proposal was introduced by Chair Sean Ellsburn and presented by Libby Albert of the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families and representatives of the San Francisco Unified School District’s nutrition committees. Supporters framed the restriction as a child-health measure aimed at protecting low-income and vulnerable students and preserving revenue for school meal programs. “No child goes hungry,” Libby Albert said while describing district policies and the wellness program that the district adopted to improve student nutrition.

Presenters told supervisors that the district serves just under 55,000 students, about 57% of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. They said federal reimbursement for a lunch is $2.42 and, after labor and overhead, only a fraction of that typically remains to cover a main-line meal. Ed Wilkins, director of Student Nutrition Services for San Francisco Unified, said the department’s deficit shrank from $1.2 million to about $560,000 annually after the district implemented its wellness policy and replaced a la carte junk food with healthier options.

Supporters argued that catering trucks parked at school gates compete directly with a la carte sales and can draw students off campus. A presenter summarized the rationale for the 1,500-foot buffer as roughly three city blocks and said the distance is intended to place trucks out of students’ sight and reduce impulse purchases. “Out of sight, out of mind,” a presenter told the committee while describing the policy’s intent.

Supervisors raised practical questions about enforcement and the ordinance’s reach. Supervisor Chris Daley asked staff for a map showing 1,500-foot buffers around schools and how the proposed restriction would interact with city efforts to support food trucks as an economic opportunity. District staff and school principals described operational issues at both closed and open campuses — listing Lowell, School of the Arts, Lincoln and Washington as high schools with open-campus privileges — and cautioned that students sometimes leave campus through gates or jump fences when trucks are nearby.

During public comment, officials and advocates from the San Francisco Unified School District, the Department of Public Health, the San Francisco Food Bank, the PTA and Parents for Public Schools urged the committee to support the ordinance, citing obesity and academic impacts tied to nutrition and the disproportionate effect on low-income and minority children.

Chair Ellsburn thanked presenters and agreed to provide the requested map to Supervisor Daley. Without objection, the committee advanced the ordinance to the full Board of Supervisors. The committee did not adopt an implementing timeline in the hearing; staff and the Police Department would be responsible for route drawing and enforcement details if the ordinance advances.