Table 1. Researchers’ experience assessing mobile food vendors on Bronx streets and factors potentially complicating future assessments.
| Assessment experience and potentially complicating factors | N (%)a |
|---|---|
| Assessment experience by interview status | 372 (100) |
| Vendor not Interviewed (answered no questions) | 141 (37.9) |
| Vendor actively in transit (e.g., ice-cream trucks en route) | 72 (51.1) |
| Vendor refusedb | 56 (39.7) |
| Vendor absent from cart, truck, or stand | 7 (5.0) |
| Vendor with long line of customers | 5 (3.6) |
| Language barrier | 1 (0.7) |
| Vendor interviewed (answered at least some questions) | 231 (62.1) |
| No difficulty; vendor cooperative and easily engaged | 197 (85.3) |
| Vendor seemed reluctant, nervous, suspiciousc | 17 (7.4) |
| Language barrier | 12 (5.2) |
| Vendor not owner; unsure how to answer interview questions | 4 (1.7) |
| Vendor with customers | 1 (0.4) |
| Factors potentially complicating future assessment | |
| Reporting time vending d | 213 (57.3) |
| Vendors starting business this year | 43 (20.2) |
| Median time vending: 4 years (range: <1 week to 35 years) | |
| Language vendor most comfortable speaking d | 225 (60.5) |
| Spanish | 173 (76.9) |
| English | 40 (17.8) |
| Bengali | 7 (3.1) |
| Arabic | 4 (1.8) |
| Albanian | 1 (0.4) |
| Reporting usual number of days selling d | 227 (61.0) |
| 7 days per week | 75 (33.0) |
| 6 days per week | 55 (24.2) |
| 5 days per week | 68 (30.0) |
| 4 days per week | 7 (3.0) |
| 3 days per week | 8 (3.5) |
| 2 days per week | 2 (0.9) |
| 1 day per week | 1 (0.4) |
| Inconsistent number of days per week | 11 (4.9) |
| Reporting usual pattern of days selling d | 227 (61.0) |
| Monday-Sunday | 75 (33.0) |
| Monday-Friday and one week-end day | 54 (23.8) |
| Monday-Friday and no week-end days | 67 (29.5) |
| Some days Monday-Friday but no week-end days | 13 (5.73) |
| Both week-end days and any day(s) Monday-Friday | 3 (1.3) |
| One week-end day and any day(s) Monday-Friday | 2 (0.9) |
| Inconsistent pattern of days selling | 13 (5.7) |
| Reporting usual vending hours d | 211 (56.7) |
| Median start hour: 10 am (range: 3 am - 4 pm) | |
| Median end hour: 6pm (range: noon - 10pm) | |
| Reporting usual vending months d | 203 (54.6) |
| Vendors selling year round (all 12 months) | 49 (24.1) |
| Median start month: April (range: January - September) | |
| Median end month: October (range: July - December) | |
| Reporting ever selling elsewhere d e | 227 (61.0) |
| Yes | 67 (29.5) |
| No | 160 (70.5) |
| Having the ability to move elsewhere easily f | 372 (100) |
| Yes | 262 (70.4) |
| No | 110 (29.6) |
| Vending from inside vending vehicle g | 372 (100) |
| Yes | 78 (21.0) |
| No | 294 (79.0) |
| Reporting vending irrespective of weather d | 216 (58.1) |
| Yes | 30 (13.9) |
| No | 186 (86.1) |
| Selling adjacent to store-front competitorsh, i | 300 (80.6) |
| Yes | 64 (21.3) |
| No | 236 (78.7) |
| Displaying mandatory vending permit and/or license h | 300 (100) |
| Yes | 102 (34.0) |
| No | 198 (66.0) |
Percentages within categories may not sum to 100 due to rounding.
Reasons for refusing to answer questions included: concern that answering would “cause trouble” or adversely affect the vendor’s business; reportedly being “too busy” (even when no customers were in sight); reportedly having “no time”; reportedly having to leave (e.g., to make an appointment elsewhere); reportedly not being the owner and not authorized or informed enough to answer; getting advice from an customer, adjacent vendor, or friend to not communicate with investigators; or unstated
Vendors often repeatedly asked what interview questions were about and requested to see investigators’ identification (but were seldom reassured by student badges). Some vendors described harassment by adjacent store-front businesses (e.g. verbal threats and threatening notes left on vending vehicles); they worried about getting tickets from police, which reportedly was common. They also worried about health inspectors and being closed down. Even when participating in interviews, some vendors’ answers often tended to be vague and evasive.
Data available for <100% of total sample if: vendor “in transit”; not at cart, truck, or stand; with customers; unable or unwilling to answer specific question; or not speaking enough English or Spanish to understand inquiry and communicate a response to bilingual investigators.
Selling on other streets, in other neighborhoods, or even in other boroughs of the city
Some vendors could easily and rapidly change location as needed (e.g., trucks, vans, push carts) whereas others could not (e.g., those selling from stationary tables or stands that would have to be packed up before moving)
Whether the vendor was protected inside of the vehicle (e.g., food truck) or not (e.g. push cart) had implications for whether the vendor came out during inclement whether, and also often affected the interview dynamic (e.g., vendors having the ability to abruptly shut vending window and hide inside of the vehicle, claiming to be closed).
Data available for <100% of total sample because of vendors “in transit”
If similar products might be available from store-front businesses visible from the vendor’s location (e.g., if there was an ice-cream store three doors down from a snow-cone vendor).