Street Food Vendor Legalization and Student Nutrition in South Los Angeles, a Health Impact Assessment (HIA)

Following efforts to organize low-income street vendors in recent years, the Los Angeles City Council is considering a proposal to legalize food vending on sidewalks throughout the city in 2014.  A separate advocacy effort has generated increasing pressure on the Los Angeles Unified School District to improve the nutritional quality of school meals on campuses.  As LAUSD has struggled to market its healthier meals to students, the counterproductive presence of poor nutrition environments surrounding campuses, which includes but is not limited to sidewalk food vendors that rely on a student clientele, has come into sharper focus.  Community Health Councils, a non-profit organization based in South Los Angeles, conducted a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) on the potential nutrition-related health impacts on school-age youth resulting from a City Council proposal to legalize street food vending.  The HIA also considered whether the presence of street food vendors correlated with differing snack consumption patterns amongst students, as well as differences in pedestrian and bicycle safety near schools.  Utilizing field observation, student surveys, and secondary data, the HIA employed a comparison of schools located in similar socioeconomic environments, but in jurisdictions with contrasting regulations for street food vendors, to determine if differences in street vendor presence affect the health-related indicators of students.  The study was conducted with input from stakeholder organizations that both supported and opposed the proposal, and findings will be presented with policy recommendations to Councilmembers.