On March 8th, the City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee (which is a sub committee of the Board of Supervisors) has scheduled the first public hearing on how to deal with Street Food from a San Francisco policy angle. While this is the first public meeting on this matter, this is a continuation of a fairly extensive internal city conversation that has been going on for the last 8-10 months on an inter-department level within the city.  Here’s the information that you need to know about why now is the time for you to act on behalf of Street Food in San Francisco:

1) This subcommittee is intended to be the first public sounding board for the variety of feelings on how street food should be regulated within San Francisco. Now is the time to be vocal in support of easing the barriers to entry and mobility of Street Food in SF, and letting the board know that this is more than an issue of small entrepreneurs vs. established brick and mortar restaurants. Many of the Supervisors may not be involved in the online community that has allowed Street Food culture to flourish in the city, but by making our voices heard now, we have the ability to move the goal posts on this issue from “Should Street Food be legal?” to “How do we make Street Food available throughout the city?”  We have the opportunity to show the Board of Supervisors the true extent of support that Street Food has within the San Francisco community.

2) The Parks and Recreation Department has recently begun awarding parks contracts to new vendors in certain spots within San Francisco. This is a good first step, but there needs to be some recognition from the city that the interest in having diverse street food options throughout the entire city exists, is not going away, and that the city has a responsibility to allow this market to grow without hindering it with burdensome costs and confusing regulations.

3) The SF Planning Department and Police Departments are in the process of reviewing their processes for approving Street Food locations, but it is the responsibility of the Street Food community to express to the Board of Supervisors the overwhelming interest in support of allowing vendors to congregate together, in order to attract the broadest customer base possible.

4) The Mayor’s Office has been working with the Police Department and Health department to look at how the existing police code might change, and where the various regulatory responsibilities might shift if moved to another department whose mission was to encourage Street Food entrepreneurship, rather than simply regulate it.

5) There has been some question from the business community about unregulated vending in San Francisco, and how it might harm existing businesses. Because many of these established businesses have a relationship with their supervisor(s) it has been easy for them to share their story.  It is the responsibility of the Street Food community in San Francisco to tell their stories to all the Supervisors. Don’t let this be a one sided argument; Street Food helps activate underutilized space, it provides job opportunities entrepreneurs at all levels of the economic spectrum, and has the ability to provide the city with increased tax revenue (and jobs) at a time when it would clearly be valued.

So here’s what to do:

Attend the March 8th meeting at City Hall of the City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee. The meeting is going to be in Room 250 and starts at 1030am. Street Food regulation is the 4th item on the agenda.

Reach out to your friends, neighbors and social network to spread the word about this meeting.

Communicate with your local Board Supervisor’s Office (via phone calls or email) your support of Street Food in San Francisco, and your desire to see more of it throughout the city.