Yakima area officials look at ways to address unlicensed food stands with FIFA fan zone in the works

Amid increasing pressure from licensed food vendors and food safety advocates, Yakima Health District officials are considering more staff time, funds and collaboration to crack down on unlicensed food vendors.

Adding to that urgency is the fact that Yakima was designated an official FIFA 2026 World Cup fan zone. Seattle is one of 16 host cities across the Unites States, Mexico and Canada and will host six games, including two elimination games.

Yakima is one of nine fan zones in the state and one of three in Eastern Washington. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, fan zones were viewing spaces where fans could watch games live on large screens. Local officials anticipate such fan zones could attract large numbers of people, and that unlicensed food vendors may open to serve them.

“I am absolutely concerned that this wonderful event that we are going to host could be even harder than what we are currently experiencing,” Andre Fresco, health district executive director, said during the district board of health meeting Wednesday.

He is proposing the health district provide $300,000 to the Yakima Valley Conference of Governments to address the issue of unlicensed food vendors throughout the year, not only during the fan zone. Member cities could use funds for staff overtime, legal issues and more.

“Part of this money to begin with would be to allow cities and the county to have access to reimbursement for legal costs, reimbursement for staff if they have overtime,” Fresco said.

“We are not looking as a health district to be in charge of this,” he added. “This is a community partnership initiative.”

Health district officials and board members will discuss the proposal and consider a memorandum of agreement during their next meeting Dec. 3.

Safety concerns

Authorities have said the unlicensed “fly-by-night” food vendors that have been popping up around the Yakima Valley are a threat to public health. They’ve seen them without necessary temperature controls and handwashing stations to prevent the spread of illness, and some local health inspectors have faced pushback to the point they’ve requested police presence.

In August, Selah City Council members unanimously approved an emergency ordinance incorporating regulations for food handlers into the city’s code. It stiffens penalties for operating without a business license, including higher fines and jail time.

Food operators who aren’t following the rules could also have their equipment and vehicles confiscated.

The issue has cropped up elsewhere in the state, such as in the Tri-Cities and Walla Walla. In his report during the meeting, Fresco thanked health board member and county Commissioner Amanda McKinney for sending an article about unlicensed food vending in Seattle.

“The issue regarded the fact that there’s a lot of unlicensed food vending in the areas of around the large fan sites, the large stadiums, arenas and so forth,” Fresco said. “And I realized that not only do we have an issue right now with unlicensed food vending here, but we also have an issue with a serious concern about a future upcoming sports event, the FIFA fan zone site.”

Health district officials are considering a partnership with YVCOG where the health district could work through a memorandum of understanding and provide funding to organization that would be available to cities that are members. The funds could be used for staff overtime addressing the issue, such as code enforcement, among other options.

Health board Chair Patricia Byers and Vice Chair LaDon Linde are also on the executive committee of YVCOG. Byers noted there is no funding available for security or other issues at the fan zones, so such funding would be helpful for the city of Yakima.

‘A community concern’

Unlicensed food vendors are a public health concern and a community concern, Fresco said. The law and ordinances “haven’t kept up with this sort of activity,” he said, and the issue impacts licensed vendors.

“We now have many people in our community, not just in our community but across the state, who are vendors, who do follow the law, who do pay their taxes and are fully permitted, who are very concerned that this takes away from their business,” Fresco said.

He said private business owners have also voiced concern about people setting up stands on their private property.

Authorities are targeting those are actively avoiding legal permitting and aren’t following the law and public health regulations, health officials said. There are also issues around how they set up, officials said.

Shawn Magee, environmental health director for the health district, has had a lot of discussions with public health officials in Benton County, among others. They’re facing the same challenges, he said.

“We go out, we do the work, we do our job, they come back,” Magee said. “The reality is it’s understaffed and under-resourced just to keep up with the volume of unlicensed food vendors out there.”