Local entrepreneur Dylan McCulloch didn’t realize he’d be caught in a net of community politics when he opened the first food truck.

He and his partner were issued a city permit and assigned a spot at the southeast corner of Grandview-Woodland park. They invested about $125,000 in the truck, with three deep fryers, an oven and custom paint job. They hired local chef to whip up beer-battered fish and chips, fish cake sliders and calamari po’ boy sandwiches.

Despite brisk business over the past month, opposition from some residents and businesses has put the future of the truck and other proposed food trucks in doubt.

The neighbourhood Business Improvement Association asked them to move the truck from the park to an on-street parking spot, after some business owners said the truck blocks the view of the park from Renzo’s Cafe and that its generator is too noisy.

Brick and mortar food businesses see the trucks as competition and as a nuisance — too loud, too smelly — and worry that the truck will affect the sidewalk patio that are planned for this summer.

But there are a lot of advantages to having a food truck in the park. It brings good people to the park. People can come and picnic. Most don’t see any problem with it. A few small merchants may see them as competition. They don’t know why, because 99 per cent of people like it.

Food trucks are rolling into virtually every big city and many small towns across the United States.

But many people are asking: is it safe?

Christie Sweitz, interim supervisor for inspection in Portland, Ore. says “many of the health inspectors in our office buy lunch from food trucks. Trucks are required to follow strict guidelines and they are inspected as often as restaurants.”

Just as with the fare from their brick-and-mortar peers, though, some meals on wheels are better bets, food safety-wise, than others.

Food trucks need one to operate so the local health department can track them for inspections.

In many towns, food-truck operators are required to post their license on the window, in a spot where customers can see it. The actual sign looks different from city to city, but in most cases it will have a date, the name of the town and some type of seal.

“You can actually ask to see the license,” says Sarah Klein, a food-safety expert at the Center for the Science in the Public Interest. “If they can’t produce it, find another place to eat and call the local health department.”

Good grades. A handful of citiies require that food trucks post their latest inspection grade on the window. The worse the grade, the greater your chance of getting a food-borne illness.

“I’d feel uneasy about eating at a truck with a B grade because it could have violations like not keeping food at the right temperature or having no soap. And I would never eat at a truck with a C because that’s close to being shut down,” Klein says. If your city doesn’t post grades, they’re likely available on your local health department’s website.

Gloves. You’re more likely to get sick because a truck (or restaurant) employee has bad hygiene. In fact, one of the leading causes of food-borne illness is contamination from someone’s filthy hands.

So get out there and eat!