Food trucks have been in the news a lot lately, both here in Maplewood and across the country.

California lawmakers are proposing new rules banning food trucks from parking near schools. 

"Given the sheer number of schools in California, the law amounts to one of most dramatic food-truck crackdowns in a while," wrote New York-native Nona Willis Aronowitz for GOOD Magazine.

Here in Maplewood, the planning and zoning commission is considering allowing food trucks within city limits, and in a Patch poll, 86 percent of our readers said they approve. Critics point to the already-struggling brick-and-mortar restaurants in Maplewood like Monarch, which announced its imminent closing last month.

Aronowitz's article, titled "Why We Need Food Trucks in a Recession," outlines how food trucks are good for the current economy:

• They are cheap, and as the cost of gas and supplies goes up, cheap food is either hard to find or very unhealthy.
• They are quick. Americans are spending more time at their desks, so they need a place to get lunch in under 15 minutes.
• They are run by young people and entreprenuers. And those are two demographics that need to be supported in order for the economy to turn around.

Does Aronowitz's economic reasoning change your mind about food trucks? Can Maplewood support a new form of local business?