A truck stop sits just off Exit 65 on I-22 in Jasper, Alabama. It’s a midway stopping point between my hometown and Birmingham, where I travel often to visit friends.
My family doesn’t do regular ole gas stations unless absolutely necessary because “truckstop coffee is better,” according to my mother, a former driver.
The coffee may be better, but the food options? Not so great. At least not for someone like me who can’t eat anything. Okay, that’s hyperbole. But I can’t eat many things – unless I want to blow up like a balloon or curl into a ball for four hours wailing about stomach pain.
I am gluten and dairy intolerant and am supposed to steer clear of grains and added sugars as much as possible. Talk about difficult to nourish oneself without adequate access to healthy food options.
I could never be a truck driver.
Step into any truckstop and one of the first things you’re greeted with is a warmer with hot dogs or a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit, followed by a cold section that has fruit cups and deli-meat sandwiches. Hot dogs are highly processed, fruit cups alone don’t have enough protein, and you know if you’re gluten intolerant that you can’t just eat the meat out of bread because if it even touches it, you’re getting sick.
I realize not all truck drivers experience the same health issues I do, so a turkey sandwich may not be all that unhealthy – even though it is. But for the sake of time, I won’t hop on my soapbox about how most all food in America is unhealthy even when it’s marketed as healthy.
