With sweltering temperatures in Southern California this week, people who depend on preparing and selling food to food trucks are coping with unbearable conditions.
“Many people come because of us. They know we’re open seven days a week,” said Roberto Guzman, owner of the food truck Alebrije’s Grill. “It’s hot, but we have to deal with it.”
Guzman, who has parked his food truck near Broadway Street and Edinger Avenue in Santa Ana for 23 years, said he cannot afford to lose customers.
“There is no other way for us,” he said.
When the temperature reached 30 degrees in Santa Ana on Thursday afternoon, the thermometer in Guzman’s food truck read 36.5 degrees.
Next to the grill in the truck the temperature rose even further to 42.5 degrees.
“Have you ever been to hell?” Guzman laughed as he tried to survive one of the hottest days of the season.
One way to ensure the safety of his employees is to move workers from the grill to the front and from the front to the back, Guzman said.
Another food truck, Mariscos El Yaquis, faces similar challenges: One employee wears a portable fan around her neck because the fans in the truck are not enough to provide cooling.
While the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) lists safety regulations for agricultural, construction, landscaping and delivery workers on its website, it does not list any regulations for food truck employees.
Cal/OSHA did not respond to a request for comment.
