How Biased Media Narratives Leave Street Vendors Unprotected

Terynce Garner

Los Angeles, Calif.

Street vendors have heard it time and time again. They don’t follow health code protocols and operate under unsanitary conditions. They are nuisances obstructing the sidewalk and cause unnecessary traffic. The media fixates on these issues and refuses to see street vendors as legitimate business owners contributing to and serving their communities.

One such street vendor who has been battling these negative stereotypes for years is Yolanda Montez, owner of Yoly’s Tacos in Gardena. Montez began selling tacos from a small cart and started as a simple way to make ends meet. The business flourished and grew into a cherished local business, where customers come to be served good food and enjoy a sense of community.

“Becoming a legal vendor was hard, there were a lot of fees and paperwork, but I knew I had to do everything correctly,” said Montez. 

Despite these obstacles, Montez was able to push forward and get all the necessary permits in order to turn her small cart into a thriving small business. This is just one example of the multitude of street vendors across Southern California, who are hardworking entrepreneurs, contributing to the diverse food cuisine that can be found.

A familiar sight in Gardena, the Yoly’s Tacos truck stands as a testament to her committed entrepreneurship.

However, doing things the right way and running a legitimate business has not stopped Montez from being a victim of violence against street vendors. In November of last year, Montez’s truck was robbed by a group of armed men who held them at gunpoint and then demanded their money. They ran off with $1,000. Three other street vendors were also attacked and robbed that same night.

“We are seen as easy targets because we carry cash and are out in the public,” said Montez, “It was one of the scariest moments of my life.”

The robbery left Montez terrified, but another big problem was how the media covered this story. The media focused on the multiple crimes that occurred that night in a short package but failed to explore the broader implications of the dangers street vendors face just trying to make an honest living. Reports of the crime were short, and they did not recognize that this robbery was a part of a larger issue.

Street vendors are especially vulnerable to these crimes as they operate in areas with no security, working late into the night. They are victims of more targeted violence as a result of this because they are seen as easy marks. Because they are not as seen as legitimate small business owners, there are a lack of protective policies in place to safeguard them from falling victim to crime groups.

According to data from the Los Angeles Police Department, in 2023 there were 202 reports of crimes against a street vendor from Jan. 1- Aug. 28, which was an 18 percent increase from the 171 incidents reported in the previous year. 

Despite this, there is a lack of follow-up investigations or examinations of deeper contexts in these crimes. When street vendors are covered in the news, the media often focuses on health and safety violations or conflict with local law enforcement. The LA times has several articles about crackdowns on street vendors or them struggling to make a living in the current economy.

For example, in February 2025, they wrote a story about two Orange County cities expanding crackdowns. A quick google search of their street vendor articles will also show their top articles about street vendors not making living wages. They lack any feature stories highlighting success stories or communities of street vendors.

Street vendor advocacy groups argue that the news media’s coverage of street vendors contributes to the trivialization of the struggles they face running their respective businesses. They have come a long way since street vending was decriminalized in 2018, with the passing of the Safe Sidewalk Vending Act (SB 946). This act prohibited criminal penalties for sidewalk vending violations and increased income opportunities for immigrant communities. Although this was a big win for street vendors, there are still major roadblocks that make it hard for them to succeed.

Inclusive Action for the city is one such organization that is at the forefront of fighting for street vendor’s rights. They founded the California street vending campaign and have played a major role in the legalization of street vending in California. They engage in legal and financial support for vendors, helping them navigate regulations and fines, and they also participate in policy advocacy, where they push for laws that protect street vendors. 

Inclusive Action has also supported street vendors in navigating the permitting process by spreading know your rights materials, holding workshops, and even providing one-on-one assistance to those in need. 

Inclusive Action are vocal advocates, campaigning on the frontlines for street vendor’s rights

Source: https://www.inclusiveaction.org/ca-street-vendor-campaign

They secured a huge victory for street vendors when they filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles for its “no vending” zones and reached a settlement agreement. The lawsuit was filed in 2022, and they argued that these “no vending” zones violated the Safe Sidewalk Vending Act passed in 2018. The settlement ended these bans and also secured compensation for vendors who had unjustly received expensive citations. 

Doug Smith, lead of legal and policy at Inclusive Action, thinks that the media should do more to dispel the prevalent misconceptions about how street vendors operate. The coverage that vendors typically get in the media uphold harmful narratives that put street vendor’s businesses and sometimes their lives at risk.

“There’s this common misconception that vendors don’t care about food safety or prepare unsafe food, but they are entrepreneurs and it's not in their best interest to do so. You are no more likely to contract a foodborne illness from a street vendor than from a restaurant.”

Contrary to popular belief, you are more likely to develop a foodborne illness from a restaurant than a street vendor. The International Association for Food Protection ran a study that analyzed inspection scores from 34,396 food service industries across major cities in the United States. The study ran between 2008-2013 and they found that mobile food vendors comply with health code violations more than restaurants. 

Despite these findings, the negative stereotypes of uncleanliness associated with street vendors persist because these findings are not reported in mainstream media. When the media focuses on the negative stories associated with street vending, they perpetuate stereotypes and bring undue harm to these small business owners.

“Part of the issue is that law enforcement and policy makers are influenced by these misconceptions, and then when they are concerned, they go for the street vendors,” Smith stated. “They are very visible in public and are low-hanging fruit to be targeted.”

The media does not focus on the hard-working entrepreneurial aspect of street vending that would aid in shifting the narrative and changing public perception. 

This visibility not only makes street vendors easy targets for law enforcement, but for groups of criminals as well. Criminals feel more emboldened to antagonize street vendors because they don’t recognize them as legitimate business owners and feel like it is an easy crime to get away with.

Groups like Inclusive Action believe that better policies and protections for street vendors would come from more positive media coverage. While the mainstream media focuses on the negative aspects, the cultural impact street vendors possess goes unreported. Street vendors are small business owners, and they build strong, lasting relationships in their communities where they are trusted and reliable providers of affordable food.

From fruit vendors and ice cream carts, to taqueros setting up shops on the corner, street vendors are revered and considered important figures in their communities.

“I get elote from the elotero just about every other day,” said Makalah Cobb, a South Bay native. “He is always friendly and very patient.”

These are the positive interactions that most natives of Southern California are accustomed to when frequenting their favorite street vendor stands. Even though street vendor’s media representation associates them with being unclean and not adhering to health protocols, in their communities where they have built up trust, customers are not fazed by these stereotypes.

“Street vendors are very clean, and I trust them to not get me sick, they wear gloves and even carry hand sanitizer, so food contamination is the last thing on my mind,” said Cobb.  

Street vendors provide an essential service to the neighborhoods they serve and are dedicated small business owners. Amplifying these stories of being reliable and trusted pillars in their community would go a long way in dispelling old narratives about their line of work and get more people to treat them as legitimate entrepreneurs.

They serve as a shining example of the working class in America, and instead of having their success stories broadcasted and being uplifted by the mainstream media, they are disparaged and have their legitimacy constantly called into question. Stories highlighting the entrepreneurial ingenuity and tenacity that they display in spite of the roadblocks they have ahead of them are what owners like Montez want to see more of.

“We work really hard, and prepare food for many customers with great care, just like any restaurant,” said Montez. “I just want people to see that we are professionals.”