A lot of businesses have been shut down in recent years, and Atlanta is still reeling from the effects. Restaurants were hit particularly hard because they were forced to close during the lockdowns. Even when outdoor dining was allowed, the number of customers was kept at minimal levels. People working in the food sector have faced financial losses and loss of their jobs as the number of permanently-closed Atlanta restaurants continues to grow. The quality of life was scraping the bottom of the barrel for the middle and lower classes.

Food trucks can already be found practically everywhere in Atlanta, and our city council has spent some time debating how we should handle food trucks that fall under public vending ordinances. There has been a lot of discussion regarding the potential for expansion of their areas of operation. A single look at the current beleaguered state of Atlanta restaurants (at least, those that were able to weather the storm) is enough to tell that expanding food truck privileges would be a catastrophic decision.

The majority of the council members said yes to the resolution for expansion because they were worried about the future of the food service industry as a whole. But the problem is, restaurants and stores are still struggling to make ends meet. Supporting and promoting food trucks, which are less expensive to operate than restaurants, will prove detrimental to restaurants and stores. It creates more competitors in a market that is already facing a shortage of customers. 

The state shares equal responsibility for mitigating the effects of the past years' lockdowns for the restaurant and store workers who have been affected by the restrictions. It is good that Georgia is providing assistance to restaurant workers that were affected by the lockdowns, and they should continue to do so. Giving preferential treatment to food truck vendors will only worsen restaurants’ present situation, though, and add to their sufferings.

The food sector has been impacted to an unprecedented degree, there is no doubt of that. The approach suggested by the city council is one-sided and threatens the balance between traditional restaurants and public vending. Helping food trucks is not really helping our economy, owing to the reasons mentioned above. The efforts to expand really need to be put on hold for the time being; after the economy has some time to recover, perhaps it would make more sense to reconsider the issue.