Nonprofit groups and city officials are working to make it easier for sidewalk vendors and food truck operators to comply with Los Angeles County Department of Public Health regulations.
In one recent example, Initiating Change in Our Neighborhoods Community Development Corp., better known as Icon CDC, has provided a loan to help construct a commissary for San Fernando Valley sidewalk vendors and food truck operators. The proceeds for the loan came from a $1 million state grant awarded to Icon CDC.
The commissary, which will be located in Sylmar, will be owned by The Food Truck Group.
Roberto Barragán, managing director of Icon CDC, said that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health requires all food vendors to have a partnership with a commissary.
“It’s some place where they can park their equipment, clean it, resupply it and in general comply with public health rules around food preparation,” Barragán said.
Maria Ponce and Kim Tapia, the mother and daughter team who own The Food Truck Group, said they are excited about the venture.
“They decided to help us with a loan to build a commissary because it is a necessity for the Valley,” Ponce said of the relationship between her company and Icon CDC.
A partnership in the works
Tapia said that The Food Truck Group bought the property in Sylmar in October 2020 with plans to build a commissary on it.
When Ponce and Tapia began working with Icon a couple of years ago, the nonprofit had just launched its street vending program and was awarding grants to individuals who owned carts or trucks, Tapia said.
Tapia said Icon CDC was receptive to the idea of a commissary, even though it did not have the money to support the venture initially.
In the meantime, The Food Truck Group provided street vending carts to the individuals who received grants from Icon CDC, Tapia added.
“Finally, in the last couple of months is when we sat down with Roberto and his team and they offered us a loan to…
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