Mission Street vendors currently have a ban restricting them from certain areas of the city like the 24th and 16th Street Bart plazas in an attempt to to stop the sale of stolen items and food. Not only does it affect the lives and well being of the legitimate vendors, students from Mission High School believe it affects the community as well since the vendors are such an important part of the Mission District’s community. Most of these vendors are selling to support their families in other countries and to put food on the table for their children.
The opinion of students from Mission High School is that the city should simply leave vendors alone so they don’t lose their jobs. Some of the vendors can’t get a job because of their immigration status so they are forced to sell food. Without vendors in the Mission there will be an impact on the Mission; it will feel less like a community. One student says that people come specifically to 24th Street and Mission to visit and tour the community, and without the vendors on the corners, the streets seem empty. For people who grew up in the Mission, vendor street food like raspados and cut-up fruit with tajín on the street is a traditional part of San Francisco.
The city says that getting a vending permit is easy. But the truth is that to be given a permit a vendor must stand in line all day. This is lost selling time. Then the vendor must pay 500 dollars a year to renew the permit. Vendors who prepare their own food to sell must obtain additional permits and most vendors don’t have the time or money to get them.
Even though the City gave vendors an indoor space in which to sell, they don’t get as much foot traffic indoors. Vendors choose to sell on Mission Street because of how much foot traffic is on the street and the ban has forced them into less populated areas and where they are more likely to struggle to make ends meet. Especially since the ban was put in place right before Christmas when vendors typically get more business. The vendors asked the City to postpone the ban until after the holidays but received no support. It’s been 60 days since the ban started and it’s set to end soon.
The vendor ban doesn’t only affect the vendors, it affects the whole Mission District. The vendors are important to the Mission and without them on the streets, the Mission feels empty. The students of Mission High School want to see the Mission at its best, a vibrant community full of residents and tourists, making a living and connecting with each other as a community should be.
