Staff Writer Rachael Medina
Rachael Medina is the senior content writer and operations manager for California.com. She was born and raised just outside the Mojave Desert in Southern California and moved to the redwood forests o…
See full bioLa Cocina’s 10th annual San Francisco Street Food Festival is right around the corner, and you don’t want to miss it. The celebration brings 50-plus incredible chefs and eateries—including James Beard Award winners and nominees—live entertainment, and activities for the whole family to the city’s Dogpatch neighborhood.
In addition to launching Off the Grid, San Francisco’s ultra-popular food-truck experience, La Cocina’s Street Food Festival has helped to change the city’s street-food policies and attract some of the Bay Area’s best culinary talents. It also promotes equity for women-, POC-, and immigrant-owned businesses in the Bay Area and beyond—making it a must-see event.
Here’s everything you need to know, including a peek at the festival’s vendor lineup.
Saturday, October 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
The Power Station, 420 23rd Street, San Francisco
Inspired by San Francisco’s diverse Mission District, nonprofit La Cocina set out to solve problems of equity in women-, POC-, and immigrant-owned businesses. Women still only account for one-third of business owners nationwide and are consistently paid less than their male counterparts—we’re talking 46 to 75 cents per dollar. Today, La Cocina is a business incubator supporting small businesses with one-on-one mentorship and offering commercial kitchen space to working-class food entrepreneurs so they can turn their talents into sustainable, legal, and formalized businesses.
“The high cost of renting a commercial kitchen makes it difficult for many working-class food entrepreneurs to formalize their business. Our kitchen space lets people who were formerly shut out of the food industry find a way in.” —La Cocina
La Cocina also provides small businesses with opportunities—such as becoming vendors at farmers markets, opening up brick-and-mortar stores, and accepting catering orders—that they would otherwise not have given the lack of resources available to them. By transforming small operations into independent, economically sound businesses, La Cocina encourages an ethnically and economically inclusive culinary landscape.
The La Cocina Municipal Market is set to open in the spring of 2020 and will become the first women-led food hall in the nation. Located in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, the market aims to turn one of the roughest areas in the city into one of the most beautiful by employing low-income, immigrant women and by providing a safe space for the neighborhood’s residents.
Equipped with a seven-year lease, the La Cocina Municipal Market will transform a 7,000-square-foot space into an anti-gentrification concept featuring seven female chefs: Binita Pradhana of Bini’s Kitchen, Tiffany Carter of Boug Cali, Estrella Flores of Estrellitas's Snacks, Wafa Bahloul of Kayma, Dilsa Lugo of Los Cilantros, Lupe Moreno of Mi Morena, and Nafy Flatley of Teranga.
From charming Wine Country towns to exciting coastal cities, these are California's best bachelorette party destinations....Read more
Looking to spice up your typical date-night routine? These unique date ideas in L.A. are bound to do the trick....Read more
After scouring the California food-truck landscape for unique eats, we found some staples to try no matter where you end …...Read more
Raised Real is reimagining what baby food can be. These nutritious, ready-to-make meals taste so good that even adults will …...Read more
0 comments