Street food in the Los Angeles area reflects the diversity, vibrancy, and culture of the region.  It presents opportunities for food access, entrepreneurship, and a lively street life.  Sidewalk vending is however illegal in the City of Los Angeles and in most other jurisdictions in the region.

Legalization and regulation of sidewalk vending would create benefits for vendors, for the public, and for municipalities by bringing vending “out of the shadows" so it can play an important role as a source of food, economic opportunity and vibrant city life. UEPI is part of the Los Angeles Street Vendor Campaign to legalize vending and incentivize healthy food vending in the City of Los Angeles. The Legal Sidewalk Vending for Healthy Communities Fact Sheet can be downloaded in English and in Spanish. For more information, contact Mark Vallianatos. Mark has also written chapters on sidewalk vending in Los Angeles in the books Informal American City from MIT Press, and Incomplete Streets from Routledge.

Contact Urban & Environmental Policy Institute

1882 Campus Road
Los Angeles, CA 90041

1541 Campus Road
Los Angeles, CA 90041