National Street Vending Initiative

National Street Vending Initiative

The Institute for Justice’s Fight to Legalize Street Vending

Through its National Street Vending Initiative, the Institute for Justice challenges anti-competitive laws that harm street vendors by unconstitutionally restricting their right to earn an honest living. The initiative helps vendors defeat such restrictions by bringing lawsuits in state and federal courts, equipping vendors to fight these restrictions through activism, and educating the public about the social and economic importance of street vending.

In 2016, we launched a new case challenging Baltimore’s strict regulations on food trucks. In 2021, we launched a new case challenging a Florida town’s ban on all food trucks from the downtown area except for those operated by brick-and-mortar restaurants.

STREET VENDORS: Does your city have laws that seem designed to keep you from competing with other businesses? Do these laws make it difficult—or even impossible—for you to run your business? If so, we can help. Please e-mail us at activism@ij.org.