I’m not a lawyer, but I believe that purchasing food for consumption while on travel would NOT be subject to the “use tax”, which is a tax on things that you use in your “home”, and not on things you “use” while away. So if you bought a tube of toothpaste and used it on a trip, it wouldn’t be subject to the use tax, but if you brought it home and used it, then it would.
I’m glad my state doesn’t have local sales taxes; our sales tax is somewhat low. I also like income taxes as part of the mix; it’s good to have different types of taxes, helps the state plan better for revenue. Our state has to balance it’s budget (we have a rainy-day fund to help out).
Are you by any chance a tax guy for a state? We have those people here and it is the national pastime to flummox them and win!