If you are a street cart vendor, interested in becoming one, or even a person that advocates or works on food cart related issues, there’s a nifty national conference coming up in Los Angeles, May 14-15, 2010 at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

According to the Conference Materials,

In recent years, street vendors in the U.S. have become more prominent than ever before. In New York, L.A., Chicago, Washington, D.C. – and many other communities around the nation – vendors are getting organized to stand up for their rights – and make their voices heard.

The conference will provide a historic opportunity for street based entrepreneurs…to meet, share experiences, coordinate strategy, and build solidarity.

There is some grant funding available to vendors who many not have the financial resources to attend on their own.

We’ve talked about cart vendor issues here before – everything from landlord issues, to city permitting, to neighborhood and restaurant complaints about the carts. While some other cities have strong cart vendor associations and groups, others – such as Portland – have no such support system. This might partly be due to the City of Portland and Multnomah County. Both entities have generally been very supportive of food carts.  However, carts in other cities are often in constant battle with changing laws, police “crack downs”, excessive permitting and other cart issues. It’s the strength in numbers theory – much like restaurant associations – vendor groups can lobby in powerful numbers, develop a strong support system for one another, and are much more powerful as a group than as individuals. Does Portland need a Cart Vendor Association?

Regardless, I think cart vendors from other places could learn a lot from Portland’s cart vendors, local government and thriving “cart culture”. On the flip side, Portland cart vendors and the City of Portland could greatly benefit from learning about cart vendors and associations in other cities.

This is an exciting opportunity for knowledge exchange, community organizing, and business and organizational development. If you are interested in learning more about the conference please check out this excellent post from the NYC based Non-profit Urban Justice Center at StreetVendor.org .