Food Cart Pods Aren’t Inspected as Closely as Food Carts, and According to Cart Owners, It Shows | Eater Portland

"According to a Willamette Week report, nine current and former tenants described problems at the Hawthorne Asylum pod including overflowing dumpsters, rodents, and unkempt restrooms with human waste smeared on the floors; ownership told Willamette Week the tenants' claims were exaggerated. The story frames the dispute within a broader regulatory gap: while individual food carts are inspected by county health inspectors, pods historically lacked inspection and amenity requirements until Multnomah County's January 2022 licensing rules required pod owners to provide safe drinking water, garbage, recycling, and pest control — yet many existing pods haven't applied for licenses and have slipped through enforcement. The Portland Bureau of Environmental Services did inspect wastewater disposal and found Hawthorne Asylum complied with current city sanitation standards." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden