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 and food trucks 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. IJ has filed over a dozen street vending or food truck cases around the nation, winning the majority of them.
The initiative’s latest case was filed in December, 2022, and challenges Jacksonville, North Carolina’s anticompetitive restrictions that violate the North Carolina Constitution’s protections for property rights, economic liberty, and free speech.
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 [email protected].
Vending Cases
Small business owners sue to strike down Jacksonville regulations effectively banning food trucks from city
Jacksonville, North Carolina effectively bans food trucks from operating in 96 percent of the city. That's why a group of small business owners has teamed up with the Institute for Justice to file a lawsuit challenging Jacksonville's regulations.
Vending Legislation
Economic Liberty | Vending
Mobile Food Vendor Freedom Act
Food trucks expand opportunity and enliven communities. For first-time entrepreneurs, food trucks offer an affordable path into business ownership. For established restaurants, they create a flexible way to grow a brand and reach new customers. For consumers, they bring convenience, variety, and culture directly to…
Economic Liberty | Vending
Mobile Food Vendor Freedom Municipal Ordinance
Starting a food truck has helped many entrepreneurs realize the American Dream. These mobile kitchens create jobs and provide an economic boost to the communities they serve. Unfortunately, many counties and cities make it nearly impossible for food trucks to operate. Some…
Vending Research
Economic Liberty | Vending
Does the Growth of Food Trucks Threaten the Sustainability of Restaurants? Evidence From a Nationwide Analysis of U.S. Businesses
This article examines whether growth in the food truck sector in the United States harms restaurants, as restaurateurs and their allies often claim. Using 12 years of nationwide data in a dynamic panel data analysis, we…
Economic Liberty | Vending
Food Truck Truth: Why Restaurants—and Cities—Have Nothing to Fear from Mobile Food Businesses
Learn more about our vending work. The Institute for Justice challenges anti-competitive laws that harm street vendors by unconstitutionally restricting their right to earn an honest living. LEARN MORE…