i202 Fall 2010 School of Information, UC Berkeley

I think that San Francisco's current system of regulating street food vendors is an example of a classification problem. Personally, I think that street food should be classified under activity that the health deparment regulates because I think food service is related to public health. But that's not how it is in San Francisco.

If the food truck or food cart operates on public property, the police department issues their permit. But if the food truck or food cart operates in private property (i.e. a private catering event), then the health department issues the permit. So it seems to me that the way the city classifies who oversees street food is by location (public vs. private) as opposed to by type of activity (i.e. food service).

Since most street food vendors operate on public property, any fines or regulatory fees that they incur go to the police department. But if the money gained from regulating street food vendors goes to the police department, then that's money that is not going to the health department, which still needs to do the health inspections.

Anyway, I think I am a bit more understanding on how street food regulations can be poorly classified after doing assignment 4. It's hard to consistently categorize things when they can fall under different categories. Street food vending is not exactly the ideal activity that the police department should be monitoring, but because it happens on public property, there is some legitimacy on why it falls under the jurisdiction of the police.

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/09/food-carts/
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Obstacles-to-SF-street-food-mecca-100241...