The Other Ice Cream Man

  If you’ve clicked this link you’ve probably briefly pondered “What’s with the ice cream truck?” and “Why the blog?” Trust that I had asked myself these questions as drove around in various converted Grumman Olson’s from early-to-mid 2009 until October of 2010. A year after moving on, mobile food vending’s purpose in my life became clear enough to justify explaining. So this is my “brief” life-story.

  Prior to driving an ice cream truck I modeled off and on for 15 years. During that time, from my 18th to my 20th year, I lived on Miami Beach (a.k.a South Beach) where I booked my first national commercial. I soon quit school and moved to the big city in hopes of bigger and better jobs. Like every other actor starting out, I took private lessons and worked in restaurants, struggling to pay rent. Nearly two years after I quit, I returned to college and later declared a major in Urban Studies.

Wait, What?

Needless to say, I developed an interesting relationship with my body during the years that I modeled. Around the age of 16 I became obsessed with my weight and took excessive caution to ensure it stayed low. After a few years I regained a good relationship with my food and began a new kind of exploration.

At 18 I concluded that only organic foods would do, at 19 I dropped pork and shellfish from my diet, then meats, and at 20 I stopped eating fish, dairy, and eggs. (Can you imagine dining out with me?) I had essentially become a vegan or, what I later learned is called, an orthorexic. 

So I was already obsessed with food and actually enjoyed learning about it; everything from [factory] farm to table. By the time I read The Omnivore’s Dilemma I was ready to join friends and family in restaurants as just another picky eater, not the crazy vegan I had come to be known as. That book provided the base knowledge I needed to start eating healthy, ethical, and delicious food.

The Conduit

My interests became centered around the growth of local economies, environmental sustainability and public health as a byproduct of a population nourished with whole foods grown close by.

Being a student in this economy is possibly the greatest accident of my life. It was because of my inability to get a “better” job that I got hired to drive a soft serve ice cream truck. The inquisitive remarks I received from friends who knew of my passionswhere underwhelming. Months in to the job I found myself stuck in a 14 hour work day, without a break, making below minimum wage. I was surrounded by horrifying health code violations and, for the most part, employers who didn’t give a damn. In so many ways I got the short end of the stick and was actually intimidated in to not fighting for my own rights.

So I left to join the Van Leeuwens. I had the mobile food vending badge, I had the ice cream blog, I had the reputation of being an ice cream truck driver, why quit ice cream truck driving altogether? Luckily, Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream was expanding, they built a shop and a few artisan ice cream combination coffee trucks, so I stayed through the winter to the following summer.

The blog

When I first got hired to drive an ice cream truck, the inquiries flooded in. Most frequently asked were “Isn’t this just a front for selling drugs?” and “Do you actually drive this thing?” People seemed unable to wrap their heads around why a young woman would do such a thing, so originally the blog was to be a window to this weird business. Unfortunately the softee business was pretty boring, it rained a lot early in the year, but people were willing to pose for pictures, so I had something.

Working for a more ethical company with a gourmet product allowed the blog to grow closer to what I had always hoped it would be, a place to share the joys of healthy food and a positive message about food industry growth in the right direction.

The Major/ The Mission

Driving around every borough of New York City in an ice cream truck quickly exposes one to a large diversity of people and situations. I found myself dealing frequently with the homeless population, the incredibly wealthy, and a very mob-like scene (don’t get me started). I came to realize the power of government through ice cream. That may be a bit of a stretch, but sometimes it was as simple as where we could and could not park or knowing my rights when police officers harassed me. Other times it was explaining to people why we didn’t have our Currants and Cream flavor for an entire year (an FDA regulation). I also became painfully aware of what terrible foods were widely available and consumed quite easily ON THE STREET (not VLAIC of course).

When it came time to declare a major, Urban Studies tied in all of my interests in to 24 credits. Most people I’ve met didn’t know that land use policy can be used to design neighborhoods to include healthy foods or public spaces that promote exercise. Urban planning, applied to already existing cities, diminishes lines between racial and economic inequalities by better situating affordable housing and public transportation. What could be a better tool to build a healthier city?

Where it is going             

My time with Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream and mobile food vending as a whole is over. I had a pretty awesome internship that came and went at City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s community outreach office which helped me to learn to better navigate New York City’s political system. I’ll graduate soon and what happens next I can’t tell.

I am humbled as I delve further in to the world of food policy and urban living, I know I have a lot to learn. Thanks for reading this far, I hope you keep reading. :)

I can be reached at TheOtherIceCreamMan at Gmail dot com

Photo Credits: Aleksandra Dubov, Chrissy Michaels, Corbis