Asociación Vendedores Ambulantes

What do we want?

We want: to sell with a license created through an official Chicago ordinance. This ordinance should include a license for prepared food and be able to provide the following:

  • A certificate of approval from the Department of Health for operating a street cart and other equipment that helps to fulfill sanitation codes
  • An approved certificate from the Department of Health that shows that the vendor has completed a “Sanitation Training for Vendors of Festival Food”
  • Approve the operator of a cart after he/she has received training in sanitation
  • Require that no vendor should ever be allowed or forced to work in an alleyway
  • Require the City of Chicago to store all personal information of the vendor and the cart once a license has been approved; the Department of Health, Police, Sanitation, and Transportation should have access to the files and be obligated to respect the provided information.
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In order to live and work with dignity, we need:

·        Licenses to be renewed every two years.
·        All of the carts to provide an identification number that corresponds to the Asociación de Vendedores Ambulantes. A copy of the vendors’ license should be stored in a visible, waterproof container.
·        Fines to be no more than $50 for each offense.
·        Vendors to be allowed to sell from 4:00am to 10:00pm.
·        That no authority should have the right to confiscate food or carts.
·        If an authority does confiscate food or a cart and cannot prove that the cart owner was violating the law in front of a civil audience, the official must compensate the owner accordingly, including lost wages.
·        The buying of a cart should be subject to the regulation of the city. Furthermore, the Department of Planning and Development should administer a cart lending program to individuals seeking vending licenses.
·        The city should recognize and negotiate only with street vendors who are organized in associations.

We agree that the carts should fulfill the following standards:

·        The carts should be made out of metal or any other material specified by the Department of Health; in addition, they should also be sealed from top to bottom, as well as from both sides.
·        The area where foods are served must be kept clean and sealed in such a way to prevent insects or rodents from penetrating it. 
·        Every utensil used to serve food must be easy to clean, and must be clean and sterilized daily.
·        The cart must be equipped with washbowl and should include a source of cold and hot running water. The hot water container should include a self drainage system.
·        The dirty water from the washbowl must be retained in a tank. The pipes through which such water would run must be perfectly sealed to prevent any leak.
·        All carts should have a temperature control system in order to keep food and drinks under proper temperature according to the mandates of the Health Department.
·        Every cart must be equipped with a non-absorbent, sealed container to maintain food wastes.