Program for Participation & Inclusion
“Along the market’s back wall, near the restrooms, black shoeshine men work and socialize, keeping up with one another. They share personal stories and seem always ready for a good laugh. Italians, Jews, Asians, and blacks sit nearby, snacking on baked goods and coffee while enjoying melodious piano sounds played live for tips. The municipal courthouse is within a short walk, and occasionally people appear for lunch with “Juror” stickers affixed to their clothing.”
Historical Diversity of Market Vendors
Markets have historically started from the aggregation of street vendors or temporary food stalls, which proliferated because of the presence of a good number of people [2, 9, 11, 12]. The lower cost of capital and lower level of skills needed to start street vending or a temporary food stall business allowed minority, immigrant, and lower-income households to easily participate in these ventures, either as vendors or workers [11, 14].
Governments in the past moved towards providing some permanency to these businesses, by building market structures and providing utilities like water, power, and sewage [2, 11, 17]. Governments were cognizant of the economic benefits of markets as providers of income opportunities for the vendors and workers, and relatively more affordable fresh produce and food items for the community at large. This explained the higher level of diversity of vendors and workers in the older market and food halls.
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Make-shift street food market
Open Air Food Markets, Festivals, and Street Vendors
In the US, food markets, festivals, and street vendors usually started around a centrally shared theme of ethnicity or culture [9-12, 16]. Immigrants gathered together to sell fresh produce and prepared food which is traditional in their native countries. In some instances, festivals about immigrant culture, arts, and crafts evolve to include street food and stalls.
“The Berkeley Flea Market is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse public spaces in the Bay Area. Every weekend, 150-plus vendors and thousands of customers and hangers-on turn one of the Ashby BART station’s parking lots into a homegrown, international bazaar.
This 30-year-old market draws vendors and customers from the East Bay and beyond to sell, shop, and socialize. The product mix ranges from new and used clothing; to African, Latin American and Asian art and handicrafts; to books, music, and electronics; to even some plain old junk. Prepared food vendors provide cheap, authentic meals from West Africa or the Caribbean, and drummers and other acoustic musicians further enhance the friendly, eclectic atmosphere.”
— Public Markets as a Vehicle for Social Integration & Upward Mobility
Project for Public Spaces [14] page 14
Community planners can provide support to these festivals and open-air markets by helping the organizers plan for and secure funding for more permanent structures, increase in inventory, improvement of marketing & promotion, and transportation accessibility.
Vendor Diversity and Ethnicity
In rehabilitating and managing traditional market and food halls, operators must ensure that any original level of diversity is preserved by giving priority to businesses which have been part of the market’s history and also by having policies in place to encourage participation by other minority groups. In the Boqueria market, for example, immigrants continue to operate a significant number of stalls despite the long history of the market and its economic success [2].
Sometimes, a market’s vendor mix has to stick to a single ethnicity, to preserve its history and tradition. The El Faro market in Los Angeles provides a venue for inclusion and participation of immigrants from Mexico [14]. The market thrived because it was providing authentic Mexican food in addition to providing a place for the celebration of Mexican music, arts, and dance.
“Located in a sprawling former factory in South Central LA, El Faro, “the Lighthouse,” is a massive indoor/outdoor swap meet with authentic Mexican food, music, and a vast array of clothing, auto parts, and “productos traditionales”. During the week, people come mainly to shop, but on weekends, El Faro turns into a major social center for its overwhelmingly Latino customers. A huge mariachi band sets up under a tree to play, and families pour in to eat, dance, listen to the music, socialize and, of course, shop the day away.
Over the last 12 years, El Faro has maintained a strong identity at its location, as it effectively replicates the atmosphere of similar markets in Mexico. A nearby transit stop and bus lines, and over 500 parking spaces ensure a steady stream of customers from Latino communities around LA. While there is not much other retail nearby, the very successful Alameda Swap Meet sits across the street, and the two businesses seem to feed off one another’s customers.”
— Report on Public Markets as a Vehicle for Social Integration & Upward Mobility [14] page 20
Project for Public Spaces
Vendor Support Program
In planning new food halls, communities must create a vendor program which prioritizes participation by residents of the community, ensures that minority members of the community are represented, and provides financial support to make this happen [13, 14].
Aside from day stalls, other vendor support programs include commercial kitchens, small business incubator spaces, business strategy seminars, and shared services for related functions such as accounting, taxation, publicity & marketing, etc. [5, 8, 14]. Cushman & Wakefield’s study found that the lowest amount of rent was being offered by incubator food halls, which usually involve a partnership between private and public entities. In these incubator food halls, local governments or foundations usually donate the building and therefore make it possible for the food hall to offer subsidized rents [5].
Findlay (Market) Kitchen Incubator
Program Goals:
To provide a community space that is welcoming to all and seeks out a healthy, diverse mix of people, ethnicities, products, and stories
To foster a supportive and collaborative environment in which people and food businesses will prosper
To create a positive social impact in our community through empowerment, partnership, and outreach.
- Findlay Kitchen website [4]
Findlay (Market) Kitchen
Membership Features & Benefits
Equipment
Each kitchen will be setup somewhat differently to fit the needs of our members, being outfitted with commercial kitchen equipment, as well as the ability to reserve more specialized pieces. Most equipment will be on casters to provide maximum flexibility in the space.
Convection & conventional ovens
Combi-ovens
Roll-in rack oven
Six-burner gas ranges
Induction cooktops
Tilt skillet
Griddle
Fryer battery
Steam jacketed kettle
60 qt, 20 qt, & 5 qt mixers
Dough roller/sheeter
Food processors
Findlay Kitchen Members will benefit from an array of facility resources included within their membership.
Preventative equipment maintenance
Ice machine
Delivery receiving area
Break room
24/7 member access
Utilities
On-site storage rental (dry, cooler, freezer)
Waste management (trash, recycling, composting)
Pest Maintenance
Business Support Services
As Findlay Kitchen continues to amass partnerships with business organizations across the city, we will continuously add to the roster of resources made available to our Members. Below is a sampling of the support services we offer from a food and business perspective.
Business Creation & Growth
Insurance, Liabilities & Legal
Marketing & Branding
Business Planning Assistance
Finance & Accounting
Products & Ingredients
Labeling Guidelines
Nutrition Analysis
Product Distribution Channels
Ingredient Sourcing Outlets
Regulatory Compliance
ODA, CHD, FDA Navigation
Food Safety & Sanitation Guidelines
Process Flow & HACCP Plan Creation
ServSafe Certification Courses
Donald and Blay Palmer clarified that the urban creative food economy trend does not have to produce solely for the urban elite [3]. Rather, we can use it to create more socially inclusive environments.
“Lighter, Quicker, and Cheaper” [18]
The Project for Public Spaces recommended the mantra “lighter, quicker, and cheaper” for communities in developing vibrant public spaces [7, 18]. The organization was cognizant of the large costs and time involved in developing large public spaces. They recommended “lighter, quicker, and cheaper” public space projects to start developing the vitality of a community, even before major decisions and funding are committed.
In operating food hall projects, “lighter, quicker, and cheaper” initiatives can come in the form of temporary day stalls for potential vendors [4, 6, 15]. This strategy allows vendors to test out their food businesses with lower capital investment and smaller commitments to time and rent [9, 11, 14]. Another possible strategy is to encourage the licensing of street vendors in key areas around the neighborhood [12, 14, 17, 18]. For communities with a limited size of market, this can be done during festivals and events, when a greater influx of visitors is expected.
“VEND at MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, California
Just south of downtown LA, at the corner of 7th and Alvarado, 12 vendors hawk tamales, drinks, and ice cream from a neat row of wooden carts lined up under the palm trees. Long believed to be one of the most dangerous corners in LA, this entrance to McArthur Park has been home to LA’s first legalized vending district for the past three years. Half a block down the street, Mama’s Hot Tamales Café, with its café, bookstore, art gallery, and commercial kitchen, serves as a home base for the vendors, as well as for much of the neighborhood.”
— Report on Public Markets as a Vehicle for Social Integration and Upward Mobility
Project for Public Spaces [14] page 25
Planning a food hall for social engagement must go beyond targeting an increased number of visits and economic feasibility. The vision of a community food hall must include participation and inclusion, as key goals. Social engagement in a community environment must aspire to include everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or income. The diversity of a food hall’s mix of vendors and their success are critical components to furthering inclusion and participation in the community.
Further studies are recommended to learn more about what vendors need, to start and continue their businesses in a food hall setting. In addition, we recognize that economic opportunities provided by food halls increase individual empowerment for both the vendors and the workers, which can help support the community in building its social capital [11].
Sources:
Elijah Anderson, The Cosmopolitan Canopy: Race and Civility in Everyday Life (New York, New York, W.W. Norton & Co., c 2011. 1st ed.).
Montserrat Crespi-Vallbona and Darko Dimitrovski, 'Urban Food Markets in the Context of a Tourist Attraction: La Boqueria Market in Barcelona Spain', Tourism Geographies, 20 (2018), 397-417.
Betsy Donald and Alison Blay-Palmer, 'The Urban Creative-Food Economy: Producing Food for the Urban Elite or Social Inclusion Opportunity?', Environment and Planning A, 38 (2006), 1901-20.
'Findlay Kitchen', <https://findlaykitchen.org/whoweare>.
'Food Halls of North America', (Cushman & Wakefield, 2018).
'Granville Island Public Market: Day Vendors', 2018 <https://granvilleisland.com/day-vendors>.
How to Turn a Place Around: A Handbook for Creating Successful Public Spaces, (New York, NY, Project for Public Spaces, 2000).
'Making Your Market a Dynamic Community Place', (New York, NY, Project for Public Spaces, 2016).
Alfonso Morales, 'Marketplaces: Prospects for Social, Economic, and Political Development', Journal of Planning Literature, 26 (2011), 3-17.
———, 'Planning and the Self-Organization of Marketplaces', Journal of Planning Education & Research, 30 (2010), 182-97.
———, 'Public Markets as Community Development Tools', Journal of Planning Education and Research, 28 (2008), 426-40.
Alfonso Morales and Steven Balkin, 'The Value of Benefits of a Public Street Market: The Case of Maxwell Street', Economic Development Quarterly, 9 (1995), 304.
'Public Markets & Community-Based Food Systems: Making Them Work in Lower-Income Neighborhoods ', (New York, NY: Project for Public Spaces, 2003).
'Public Markets as a Vehicle for Social Integration and Upward Mobility', in Phase I Report: An Overview of Existing Programs and Assessment of Opportunities (New York, NY, Project for Public Spaces, Inc. & Partners for Livable Communities, 2003).
'Reading Terminal Market: Day Stall Merchants', 2018 <https://readingterminalmarket.org/merchant/day-stall-merchants/>.
David Studdert and Sophie Watson, Markets as Sites for Social Interaction: Spaces of Diversity, Public Spaces Series (Bristol, UK, Published for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation by Policy Press, 2006).
Andrew Tam, 'Singapore Hawker Centers: Origins, Identity, Authenticity, and Distinction', Gastronomica, 17 (2017), 44.
'What Makes a Successful Place', Project for Public Spaces, 2018 <https://www.pps.org/article/grplacefeat>.