A former park board member is offering a behind-the-scenes look at sanctuary city economies as unlicensed food vendors have been spilling onto the streets and leaving more than a mess in Minneapolis.
Becka Thompson — a former Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board commissioner and former candidate for Minneapolis City Council who has become a social media commentator on Minneapolis politics — spoke with Liz Collin about unlicensed food vendors and the politicians who’ve been turning a blind eye to the problem.
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And the problem seems to be getting worse, as many residents have reached out to Alpha News. In one email, a resident of the Powderhorn Park neighborhood wrote:
“The city refuses to enforce its own laws and ordinances regarding these particular unlicensed food vendors. It’s a constant public safety and nuisance issue and every weekend it goes on from April to November, when we often see 20 to 25 unlicensed vendors all operating around the same intersection.
Unlicensed vendors dump used cooking oil down our storm drains, use deep fryers in the gutter of the street next to trash … customers urinate behind the houses and in the alleys, loiter in the yards of private homes, they block our crosswalks, and so much more.”
Thompson, who previously lived in the area, recently visited Powderhorn Park for herself.
“It was so awful and it was so obviously wrong on so many levels. There were people blocking the roads. I don’t know if you know this, drive-thrus are illegal in Minneapolis, yet this was clearly a drive-thru … kids are darting in and out in front of cars because it’s just completely been taken over. And I saw an open flame over the back of a hatchback,” Thompson explained.
Jason Chavez leaned on MPRB HARD to get us to allow unlicensed food vendors in parks- the chosen places were Minnehaha falls and lake nokomis.
We said a hard no, but, when I tried to put it in writing of a “never” via resolution staff was hesitant because MPRB was in… pic.twitter.com/g4YVTwIAJ7
— Becka Thompson (@becka_thompson) September 7, 2026
She also said that the problem has continued to grow in the past year and noted that Jason Chavez, a member of the Minneapolis City Council, “wanted to make lax health rules.” Chavez represents Ward 9 where Powderhorn Park is located.
“He was able to try to put his thumb on the scales with the city and we wouldn’t play,” Thompson explained.
“As a resident and as somebody who doesn’t want to get salmonella or have a hepatitis A outbreak, I definitely, just as a former park commissioner, I can’t stand the mess and destruction of Powderhorn Park,” Thompson said.
She also pointed out how Minneapolis “sits on a massive aquifer. There’s underwater channels and basins all over the place … I mean, dumping grease into our stormwater system? Like I don’t even know where to begin on that,” Thompson said.
Along with her concerns about damage to the environment, Thompson highlighted “the massive amounts of the fire codes being violated, the business codes being violated” and how unlicensed food vendors “aren’t even operating under food trucks, like the health codes. It’s obscene what’s being allowed to happen.”
Alpha News asked the City of Minneapolis if it plans to address the concerns that Thompson and neighborhood residents have with unlicensed food vendors.
In a statement, a city spokesperson said:
“Our goal is to protect public health while ensuring food vendors have access to the information, resources, and support they need to meet regulatory requirements. Vendors can apply for a license for many types of food-related businesses, restaurants, and events with the City of Minneapolis.
The City’s approach focuses on helping vendors operate in compliance with all applicable City ordinances and state statutes. Vendors interested in becoming licensed can receive free guidance, including basic food safety training once an application is submitted.
Despite these efforts, achieving compliance among unlicensed food vendors remains a significant Citywide challenge, particularly due to violations from a small number of recurring offenders. The Minneapolis food community is a vibrant marketplace. We encourage residents and visitors to the city to support restaurants and food vendors displaying a permit or license.”
However, Thompson says she has seen how council members like Chavez will lean on the Health Department and other agencies to look the other way, explaining how she observed this happen in dealing with drug use and other issues with homeless encampments.
“If they’re gonna do that where there are drugs … of course they’re gonna lean on the Health Department to say, ‘Don’t go look at the fact that people are selling jerk chicken and a walking taco out of the back of a hatchback on 10th Avenue and 31st, right next to Powderhorn Park,'” Thompson said bluntly.
Liz Collin
Liz Collin is a multi-Emmy-Award-winning investigative reporter, news anchor, and producer who cares about Minnesota. She is the producer of The Fall of Minneapolis and Minnesota v We the People documentary films, and author of the Amazon best-selling book, They’re Lying: The Media, the Left, and The Death of George Floyd. Her work has prompted important state laws. Yet perhaps most of all, Liz has been giving a voice to the truth—and helping others tell their stories—for more than 20 years.
Dr. JC Chaix
Dr. JC Chaix is an editor, educator, and an expert in media studies. He wrote and directed the Alpha News documentary "The Fall of Minneapolis" and "Minnesota v We the People."
