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.
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.
· 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.
· 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.
