SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – The 2024-2025 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury released a report Thursday about unpermitted food vendors finding that the mobile nature of the retailers and changes in enforcement at the state level have limited the options for local authorities to respond.
The Jury recommended that the County government allocate funds to hire inspectors who would partner with local law enforcement to improve inspection and enforcement efforts to protect both local consumers and permitted food vendors.
“In recent years, however, the presence of unpermitted street food vendors—push carts, food trucks, and tented restaurants—operating in Santa Barbara County has become widespread,” opened Thurday’s Grand Jury report. “Their unprecedented growth threatens not only the economic vitality of permitted restaurants and food trucks in the region, but, most importantly, the health of customers from sales of food prepared under potentially unsanitary conditions.”…