From selling a burger with fries to a simple cup of coffee, the food trucks that used to serve El Camino College students and faculty are nowhere to be seen throughout the campus.
ECC and Pacific Dining, the food truck contractors, had signed a contract to let food trucks park on campus through 2023. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, most students and faculty have not attended in-person classes, meaning the food trucks have no one to sell to.
“Right now, the college has shut down all aspects of the campus being open, including food services, but that doesn’t mean we’ve lost any of the food trucks,” Assistant Director of the ECC Bookstore Andy Nasatir said.
ECC and Pacific Dining signed a five-year contract to have food trucks stationed on campus, with ECC gaining a small profit.
While the campus remains closed, the contract continues. ECC has experienced revenue loss due to no sales from any of their food places, including Cafe Camino and the Art Deli.
Two of the food trucks at ECC, LA Mobile Catering and Coastal Coffees, were stationed on opposite sides of campus.
“I remember getting a bacon burger combo for about ten bucks. It was easier to go to the [LA Mobile] truck than to go across the street and still make it back to class,” Carlos Recinos, undecided major, said.
Nasatir said the food trucks will still come back once the campus begins to open up again and when “the college tells us that we are ready to resume.”
ECC is currently planning out the process for re-opening the shuttered Manhattan deli under the student picked name “El Cappucino” for the calendar year of 2021.
“We are currently in the beginning stages for looking for contractors and a vendor to begin the build-out for it to open around fall 2021,” Nasatir said.
Both the LA Mobile and Coastal Coffees food trucks will not return to the campus and sell until ECC notifies them that it is safe to sell there again.
“I honestly miss getting my morning coffee from the [Costal Coffee] truck, but homemade coffee never hurt anyone too,” Arts major Jennifer Ramirez said.
The Union called Pacific Dining a total of six times and emailed three times, but they did not respond.
