A Fresno Story of Partnership and Power
When Fresno passed ordinances limiting where, when and how street food vendors could operate, Cultiva La Salud and its partners mobilized to fight back. Executive Director Genoveva Islas shares how the organization expanded its 2025 work by joining forces with allies skilled in advocacy and communications, combining those strengths with Cultiva La Salud’s deep, trusted relationships with vendors to build a powerful campaign against the oppressive rules. The result: vendors found their voices, spoke truth to power at city council meetings and in the media and successfully reversed key portions of the ordinances—paving the way for thriving small businesses that allow families to grow, prosper and feed their community well.
