Board Calls for Ordinance to Help Regulate Sidewalk Vendors through Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — To help provide a pathway for unregulated home cooks and sidewalk vendors to become permitted, this week, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion authored by Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell that directs the Department of Public Health to report back in 120 days with an ordinance to implement Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations.   

Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations allow sidewalk vendors and home cooks to prepare, cook, and serve up to 30 meals daily and no more than 90 meals a week from their homes. The California Retail Food Code allows home cooks to apply for a public health permit for their home kitchen to be a Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation (MEHKOs). So far, 11 counties within the state have already authorized MEHKOs in their jurisdictions.  

“We are taking a major step towards getting the over 50,000 unpermitted sidewalk vendors in Los Angeles County on a path to being permitted and operating safely in our local economy. Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations help ensure food safety and address the costly barriers many underinvested communities, women of color, and immigrants face when trying to access approved kitchens to do business. I look forward to the Board receiving a comprehensive ordinance to vote on to make this proven model accessible across the County,” said Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell.   

Over the next 120 days, the County’s Department of Public Health, Economic Opportunity, Chief Executive Office, and other relevant departments will engage in extensive outreach for feedback from microentrepreneurs, sidewalk vendors, brick-and-mortar businesses, and residents across the County to inform the MEHKO ordinance and development of the permitting program.   

If the Board approves the ordinance, the County will manage and regulate the MEHKOs program, and cities within LA County will maintain local authority to address any potential challenges unique to their communities, such as nuisance and noise regulations, through their own municipal ordinances.  

In addition to calling for a draft ordinance to present to the Board for a vote, the motion also establishes an education and awareness program to help inform sidewalk vendors and home cooks on the requirements for MEHKOs and how to avoid being disruptive within the neighborhoods they operate in once the ordinance passes.  

To read the entire motion, click here. Subscribe to the email distribution list here to sign up for updates and more information on the MEHKOs program.