Socio-economic antecedents and consequences of street food vending in a selected block in Metro Manila

This study aims to examine the socio-economic antecedent and consequences of street food vending in a selected block in Makati, Metro Manila is the focus of the study. Factors that account for the decision of an individual to go into street food vending were poor economic situation in their place of origin. Their initial capital for their business came from family savings and loans. The items sold varied from cooked to uncooked food. Vendors usually work for 8-9 hours a day starting at 5:00 in the morning. Members of the association are generally older than the non-members. They lived in the city for a longer period of time. In general, the average duration of stay in Manila is 19 years. Surprisingly, members have less income than non-members since non-members have more flexibility in terms of food items sold and itinerant nature of their tasks puts them closer to customers. Problems confronting vendors include fights with other vendors, theft, and job security. Oftentimes, they have relatives to support. The vendors see their task as transitory and hoped to move to other jobs in the future subsequently returning to the place of origin. The results revealed a number of policies and programatic issues to improve the welfare of the street food vendors