$5 Million for Street Vendors: An Investment in a Just Recovery

By Lyric Kelkar and Rudy Espinoza

Today at 2 pm, the City Council’s COVID-19 Recovery Committee will be discussing an important proposal put forward by Councilwoman Rodriguez and Councilmember Cedillo to allocate $5 Million from the City of Los Angeles’ CARES Act allocation to support street vendors in procuring carts and permits. 

This proposal is an important step to our recovery and it should be passed. This is a much needed investment in the Sidewalk and Park Vending Program in the City of LA.

The CARES Act is a one-time investment of resources that many cities are receiving to help them combat COVID-19 and the impact it is having on communities. Like with all Federal grants, there are restrictions in how it can be used and a strict timeline that must be followed - cities must use these resources by the end of this year or be forced to forfeit what’s unused.

In January of this year, the first sidewalk vending permit was issued after a decade’s long fight to legalize street vending in the City of LA. At the onset, only $350,000 had been allocated to do education and outreach, and millions of dollars were allocated to enforcement of this new program. No money was allocated to the actual infrastructure that vendors need to thrive in a newly formalized profession. 

In March, when the pandemic hit and the City went into lockdown, street vending was effectively banned for non-permitted vendors. Long before the pandemic, food vendors were at a disadvantage because the carts that they need to vend legally do not and have not existed. Now that outdoor dining is the norm and looks to stay that way for the foreseeable future - sidewalk vendors need meaningful investment more than ever to ensure their businesses are able to recover from this economic crisis, and their customers are properly cared for. Despite the Mayor’s consideration of street vendors in the Al Fresco program, no street vendors have applied, while over 1,400 permits have been issued to brick and mortar businesses. Meanwhile, there are 78 permitted food vendors in the City of LA, out of the estimated 10,000 that operate within City limits. 

Our leaders are grappling with a flood of competing priorities. Naturally, these resources will pay for basic healthcare expenses for things like COVID-19 tests, but we should also identify how these resources can strategically prepare us for our economic recovery and the future of our economy.

We believe that our city’s economic future must include the most vulnerable. Prior to the pandemic, 19.1% of Los Angeles residents lived in poverty. We must take care of their basic needs with all the resources at our disposal (both our city budgets and federal grant opportunities like the CARES Act), but should also identify ways that our available resources can pave the way for future prosperity.

The Rodriguez/Cedillo motion is an important proposal that not only aims to support the short-term needs of low-income entrepreneurs, but paves the way for them to participate in our economy for the long-term. A certified, pandemic-compliant food cart and associated permits are the greatest obstacle that street vendors face in participating in our formal economy. Helping them get pandemic-compliant carts and permits, investing in education and technical assistance to help their grow their business, and connecting them to commissary spaces and commercial kitchen is not only an investment in them as a business owner, it is an investment in the future of our economy. An investment in one street vendor is actually an investment in an entire economy that supports them. A thriving street vendor is bolstered by commissaries, commercial kitchens, cart manufacturers, food wholesalers, and the customer base that buys their products. What’s more, this is all supporting the tax base of our City which is forecasted to experience a severe fiscal emergency. The City’s investments must be strategic so we can recover.

The City’s investments must be strategic so we can recover. We have heard ideas about simply allocating an additional investment into the existing LA COVID Regional Fund that is providing grants to all types of businesses and nonprofits. This Fund is an important effort, but street vendors have a much more difficult time accessing these resources than others, and with the tremendous needs out in our city, street vendors will be left to compete with others. What’s more, only a very small percentage of those who have applied to the Fund have been awarded a grant due to the flood of applicants. If we want to invest in street vendors, we should do it directly. Equity demands that we support the most vulnerable in an unapologetic way.

There is no better class of entrepreneurs to engage during COVID-19 than those have taken care of their families building businesses in the open air. Street vendors are the originators of “Al Fresco” dining. We should invest in them, not make it harder for them to engage. A $5 Million investment in pandemic-compliant infrastructure is a reasonable request that will support thousands, now and into the future. These types of strategic investments should be taken seriously.

Today’s committee is taking place virtually. The agenda can be found here. If you would like to contribute a public comment in support, call 1-669-254-5252, use Meeting ID No. 160 535 8466 and then press #. Press # again when prompted for participant ID. To watch and listen to the meeting live, you can go here.