Street Vending Collaborative for Health, Safety, and Economic Mobility

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

County Spending Category
1.6 Direct Community Investments
Federal Expenditure Category
Loans or Grants to Mitigate Financial Hardship
Project Launch Date
01/16/2023
Anticipated End Date
12/31/2026
Interpretation Languages
  • Armenian
  • Spanish
  • Mandarin
  • Cantonese
  • Vietnamese
Written Languages
  • Armenian
  • Spanish
  • Simplified Chinese
  • Vietnamese

Project Contacts

Indicators & Metrics to Date

  • Webinars Hosted
    8
  • 1:1 Technical Assistance
    0
  • Attendees
    549
  • Prototype carts
    0
  • Compliant Street Vendors
    0
  • Final Code Compliant Blueprint
    0
  • Corridors Canvassed
    5
  • Vendors Engaged via Canvassing
    69
  • Multilingual Educational Materials
    10
  • Food Code Compliant Carts
    0
  • Protocol for complaints
    1
  • Cart Awardees
    0
  • Procured Carts
    0

Target Populations

  • Small Businesses

Project Description

The Sidewalk Vending Collaborative for Health, Safety, and Economic Mobility (“Street Vending”) project aims to close gaps in financial opportunity and mobility for predominantly informal segment of the regional economy - workers engaged in sidewalk vending. Steet vendors continue to organize and seek legal pathways for their economic livelihoods despite facing pre-pandemic economic instability, challenges in legal status and English proficiency and access to information and resources, and incidents of harassment and violence. The population of employees and business owners engaged in the Sidewalk Vending sector predominantly represent BIPOC, limited English proficient and undocumented individuals, who also experienced higher rates of hospitalizations, deaths, unemployment, and loss of revenue due to the pandemic. More specifically Latino populations, who represent a large portion of the sidewalk vending economy, were disproportionally impacted by COIVD-19 comprising 46.4% of positive COVID-19 cases during the peak of the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic increased the economic vulnerability of the community and led to worsened financial stability during the recovery. Through this project, we will identify inclusive, sustainable, and legally viable operating models for this economic sector, identify gaps in education, resources, and support needed for compliance, and foster healthy relationships between brick-and-mortar businesses, residents, and sidewalk vendors. This project builds on the County’s initial efforts prompted by SB946 which decriminalized many of the activities of sidewalk vending and allows local jurisdictions to create regulation, permitting and an infrastructure to formalize the sidewalk vending industry. Through the development of services that align with the nuances of the sidewalk vending sector including the creation of a County ordinance providing regulation, protections and permitting we remove the institutional barriers for entrepreneurship and increase viability of financial stability achieved by BIPOC, LEP and undocumented individuals that seek to participate in sidewalk vending marketplace economy. This project will create a platform for ongoing dialogue with street vendors to elevate their experiences, challenges, and commitments to the greater LA region. In partnership with community-based organizations that work closely with street vendors, we will establish a County Street Vending Ordinance with the Board of Supervisors and a County-led permitting process that will provide a legal pathway to street vending, launch a marketing and outreach campaign with technical assistance to provide vendors with information and support related to this ordinance and public health and safety regulations, and create and provide access to affordable code compliant food carts. Across the lifespan of this project, we will engage 5,000 street vendors from historically underserved, marginalized, and COVID-19 impacted groups with information as well as support 500 new permits and distribution of 200 code complaint carts and establish a framework that can support all countywide street vendors in a more formal and vibrant street vending economy.

Goals & Objectives

Goal Description Partner with 500 street vending businesses in order to bring them into gainful compliance with local health, safety and business permitting requirements.

Objective Description 1:1 Sidewalk Vending TA for those interested in starting a Sidewalk Vending business or are an existing sidewalk vendor.

Activity Description Training available to 500 Vendors for compliance and business development services.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
10 Service Delivery Webinars Hosted 10.00
11 Service Delivery 1:1 Technical Assistance 500.00
12 Service Delivery Attendees 500.00

Outcome Description At least 200 vendors come into compliance.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
11 Service Delivery 1:1 Technical Assistance 500.00
15 Program Outcome Compliant Street Vendors 500.00

Goal Description Increase access to affordable code compliant carts to help their local businesses thrive for 200 local food street vendors

Objective Description Establish a blueprint for a code-compliant cart for 20 carts.

Activity Description Create an opportunity to onboard an engineering firm and a manufacturer that will be engaged to develop a cart that is SB 972 compliant.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
13 Performance Prototype carts 20.00

Objective Description Create an accessible application to grant 200 code-compliant food carts.

Activity Description Identify and implement criteria for awarding 200 code compliant food carts to fully compliant street vendors.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
20 Program Outcome Food Code Compliant Carts 200.00
22 Service Delivery Cart Awardees 200.00

Objective Description Release RFB for the procurement of 180 code compliant food carts across four cart types: Integrated Grill Cart, Cold/Hold Prepacked Ice Cream Cart, Hot Holding Cart, and Cut Fruit Cart.

Activity Description
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
23 Service Delivery Procured Carts 180.00

Outcome Description Create a blueprint for affordable carts that are accessible by street vendors and enable them to come into compliance with local and state regulations.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
16 Program Outcome Final Code Compliant Blueprint 1.00

Goal Description Increase the awareness of 4,000 sidewalk vendors through an outreach and education campaign

Objective Description Street Canvassing throughout LA County with priority on COVID -19 Impacted Areas and Unincorporated corridors.

Activity Description Outreach to corridors in all Supervisorial Districts with priority on high impact areas.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
17 Performance Corridors Canvassed 50.00
18 Service Delivery Vendors Engaged via Canvassing 4000.00

Objective Description Create culturally competent educational materials that will be used in engagement strategies and will be offered in different languages to assist vendors with permits, small business resources, and best practices for operation on the sidewalks.

Activity Description DPH Collaborative Educational Materials 1-Pager on SB 972 Overview for General Audience 1-Pager Class Permit FAQ - Cottage food A & B info 1-Pager Health Permit Exemption for prepacked NPH foods 1-Pager Prepackaged non-potentially hazardous food & Prepackaged potentially hazardous food 1 - Pager Food that requires limited preparation & Food that requires preparation with raw meat, raw poultry or raw fish 1 - Pager - Fruit Carts Do's and Don'ts 1 - Hot Holding Cart Do’s and Don'ts Health and food safety standards per the California Retail Food Code Health permit requirements as required by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) Public Works American Disabilities Act (ADA) SIDEWALK VENDING: Your Rights & the Rules of the Road Road-Right-of-Way Compliance as enforced by DPW Compliance w/ Illicit Dumping and Appropriate Waste Disposal DRP Collaborative Educational Materials - Selling on Private Property (permit guide) Sidewalk Vending Registration Certificate Flyer (SVRC)
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
19 Program Outcome Multilingual Educational Materials 15.00

Outcome Description Develop a human-services approach to an area of work that has historically been approached by local jurisdictions as punitive.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
21 Program Outcome Protocol for complaints 1.00