LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion authored by Supervisor Hilda L. Solis and coauthored by Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell to identify funding that can subsidize permitting and equipment fees for sidewalk food vendors.
Across Los Angeles County, there are an estimated 10,000 sidewalk food vendors that sell food such as fresh fruit, hot dogs, tamales, and ice cream. Sidewalk food vendors, and their related small purchases, sustain 5,234 jobs in Los Angeles, according to the Economic Roundtable report. These entrepreneurs are deeply interconnected and interdependent with the County’s formal economy – they purchase supplies from other businesses and spend their income, providing revenues for local, state, and federal government.
Before applying for a sidewalk food vending permit from any city in Los Angeles County (excluding the jurisdictions of Pasadena and Long Beach), a sidewalk food vendor must first secure a health permit from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH). This requires sidewalk food vendors to pay costs for permitting and inspections that can present a significant financial barrier discouraging vendors from coming into compliance and preventing them from attaining a secure economic pathway.
“Throughout the years, I have seen how sidewalk food vending provides immigrants and low-income workers with opportunities to generate wealth and spread their culture to support themselves and their families. Sidewalk food vendors are an integral part of our economy and cultural fabric. However, to uplift economic pathways for them to flourish, it is important that they register their businesses and participate in the formal economy. Costs and fees for permits and upgraded equipment discourage many of them from doing so. To that end, the County is in a unique position to help identify funding that can incentivize and assist sidewalk food vendors with obtaining the necessary permits and equipment,” said Supervisor Solis.
On September 23, 2022, Governor Newsom signed SB 972, a bill that modified the California Retail Food Code and established a new retail food facility, and became effective on January 1, 2023. The new type of food facility is called a Compact Mobile Food Operation (CMFO) and is defined as a non-motorized push-cart, stand, rack, or display with or without wheels, pedal-driven cart, wagon, or showcase that must report to a commissary for daily cleaning and storage. The DPH has introduced an ordinance for the Board of Supervisors consideration that will implement this new CMFO in December 2023.
Additionally, the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) serves sidewalk food vendors as microbusiness customers. On December 2023, DEO will also bring an ordinance to the Board of Supervisors to codify sidewalk food vending requirements for the unincorporated areas of the County.
“The DEO serves as a first and friendly point of contact for our local sidewalk vendors with our Los Angeles County government. To help our smallest entrepreneurs in the County’s newly formalized open air economy, we’re engaging sidewalk vendors where they are through street teams, providing technical assistance on how to get compliant today and prepare for registration in Los Angeles County’s unincorporated areas and through our municipal partners, and soon-to-be manufacturing and offering no-cost code compliant sidewalk vending carts. We appreciate today’s motion calling on the DEO and our County partners to continue to thoughtfully approach affordability and economic security for our vendors as we create new permits and registration processes while ensuring we build an infrastructure that fosters healthy and safe communities. The DEO is reinvesting ARPA dollars back into the community to offset early registration fees associated with the upcoming Sidewalk Vending Ordinance and looks forward to creating sustainable solutions together,” said, Kelly LoBianco, Director of Los Angeles County’s Department of Economic Opportunity.
The DEO received over $156 million in federal American Recovery Program Act (ARPA) funds to support job seekers, small businesses, and microbusinesses. Out of this funding, a total of $5 million was allocated for sidewalk food vending support. The DEO has been leveraging these dollars to amplify outreach, offer no-cost carts, and offset new fees associated with their department’s ordinance and registration. $25 million was also set aside for the DEO to implement the economic mobility initiative to assist small businesses and micro-businesses with education, technical assistance, and capital access.
This motion, which was approved today in a 5-0 vote, directs the County’s CEO, in collaboration with the DPH and the DEO to report back to the Board of Supervisors in writing 60 days, before consideration of the new ordinances to implement SB 972, with options to subsidize, either partially or fully, the permit and/or other costs that sidewalk food vendors have to pay and a process to determine eligibility for the subsidies. The motion also directs the DPH and the DEO to pursue grant funding at the state and federal levels, as well as through philanthropic partners, to seek funds to enhance the work of sidewalk food vendors.
