An Analysis of Public Health Policy and Legal Issues Relevant to Mobile Food Vending

• DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2009.185892
• Publication Date: 2010-09-24T03:49:58Z
• Authors: June M. Tester; Stephanie A. Stevens; Irene H. Yen; Barbara L. Laraia
• Keywords: 2. Zero hunger; Urban Population; Health Policy; 16. Peace & justice; United States; Nutrition Policy; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Humans; Obesity; Public Health; Food Dispensers, Automatic

Mobile food vending is a component of the food environment that has received little attention in the public health literature beyond concerns about food sanitation and hygiene issues. However, several features of mobile food vending make it an intriguing venue for food access. We present key components of mobile vending regulation and provide examples from 12 US cities to illustrate the variation that can exist surrounding these regulations. Using these regulatory features as a framework, we highlight existing examples of “healthy vending policies” to describe how mobile food vending can be used to increase access to nutritious food for vulnerable populations.