By Ben Tracy
Drive-thru restaurants have been banned in the very city where the first drive thru opened 62 years ago.
City officials in California’s Baldwin Park say drive-thrus have upsized their citizens and enough is enough.
There are at least 17 drive-thrus crammed into Balwin Park’s six-and-a-half square miles.
Maria Gonzalez and her family used to be regulars, pulling into drive-thrus 10 to 12 times per week.
But years of eating fast food led to obesity and other health problems for the family.
“Until this day, I still feel the guilt of taking them too much to eat out,” says Ms Gonzalez.
D’Vonte Pullen, 16, also frequented drive-thrus with his parents.
His weight shot up to 285 pounds.
Mr Pullen changed his habits when his doctor issued him an ominous warning.
“If I didn’t stop what I was doing, I could have a heart attack or die or something – that scared me,” Mr Pullen says.
Stories like theirs have local leaders concerned about the number od drive-thru restaurants popping up in this blue-collar community.
They have issued a temporary ban on the opening of any new drive-thru in Baldwin Park.
It is part of an effort to fight obesity in a city where a third of all adults are overweight – 36 percent.
“Everyone has a right to consume whatever they want,” says Baldwin Park Mayor Manuel Lozano.
“But as a local government, we are also held accountable to make sure we provide a healthy option for the community.”
Ironically, the drive-thru craze is thought to have started in Baldwin Park back in 1948 at California’s popular In-N-Out Burger chain.
“Not having a drive through is not going to make a difference in the decision making process,” says Baldwin Park resident Paula Miller.
The National Restaurant Association agrees, saying the ban “entirely misses the key factors in improving individual health altogether – eating a balanced diet and getting plenty of exercise”.
Mr D’Vonte understands that now – he has lost nearly 20 pounds and has a lot more energy.
“He used to walk with his head down,” says his mother, Mauricia Copado.
“Now he walks proud.”
Maria also bypasses the drive-thru – choosing instead to eat at home, or restaurants offering healthier choices.
Meanwhile, the city will decide in nine months whether to end to ban, or continue to put the brakes on drive-thrus.
CBS