Last week, CHS featured a photo essay on the fruit sellers who have popped up on Capitol Hill in recent months. There’s charm in much of it — relatively fresh produce available on your street corner occasionally provided by somebody who is part of the farm or orchard where the fruit came from. But on a corner of a Capitol Hill avenue, one “vendor” may be a part of a larger, sadder story.
Hector (we’re not using his real name) from Puebla, Mexico told CHS that he has been working on the streets of Capitol Hill for only a couple months, about as long as he has been in Seattle. He says he was brought here from Puebla by friends who said that there is work here.
“I’m not sure where I’m staying, but I’m dropped off here [and] I stay here for about ten hours a day,” said Hector, who speaks just enough English to tell you the price of fruit and where it is from.
Hector told CHS he was sending money home to his mother back in Puebla. When we talked to him, Hector was selling mangoes, but says that he sells strawberries and oranges as well.
Fruit sellers like Hector are showing up in other neighborhoods like West Seattle with similar stories.
According to the Seattle Department of Transportation, any person operating a business in Seattle city limits must have a business license and/or a street use vending permit to sell anything on the street.
When asked if he who knew who he worked for Hector said he was not sure, but knew that the fruit came from a warehouse.
“In a nutshell, someone selling his/her own home-grown fruit on a street corner doesn’t need a business license but if the person is vending in the public right-of-way, a street-use permit is required,” a SDOT spokesperson told CHS.
In San Francisco, this type of fruit selling has been linked to a larger problem of smuggling and exploitation, where people are brought from places in Mexico to sell fruit or other goods almost as indentured servants.
SDOT responds to street use violations on a complaint only basis, but according to Kate Leitch, SDOT has not received any complaint regarding fruit sellers on Capitol Hill.
“I was bothered at other corners, but I haven’t gotten into much trouble here,” said Hector.
Only the most gullible thinks the fruit is home grown.
You buy it to eat, it is handy, priced competitively, adds some charm to very non charming corners.
I like it.
By the way, since the “heritage” tomatoes all looks so much the same, I suspect at the farmers market, most of the produce comes from a wholesale supplier warehouse as well. Investigative reporters, there might be a bigger story.
I’m now a little more worried about this fellow for that same reason. Is he really being exploited by someone and fears retaliation if he says much? Is the Dept of Homeland (in)Security going to come looking for him on the corners of the hill now that they know they’ve got someone here of questionable legality?
Where DOES all that produce at the markets come from?
hate to state the obvious, but mangoes don’t grow in seattle.. or were people thinking he was trucking them up from mexico himself?
at least the cherry guys are probably from washington somewhere
“But on a corner of a Capitol Hill avenue, one “vendor” may be a part of a larger, sadder story.”
You think? Did the fact that you needed to use an alias for him clue you in to that?
“I’m not sure where I’m staying”
“When asked if he who knew who he worked for Hector said he was not sure”
“I was bothered at other corners, but I haven’t gotten into much trouble here”
“Hector” is being exploited, and the person who’s using him to sell fruit is breaking the law in multiple ways. That Hector is able to send some money to his mother in Puebla doesn’t make this OK.
The guys employing him are breaking the law by not having required business permits, by employing an undocumented worker (saving money by not paying taxes), by not paying minimum wage, etc. If neighbors complain and the police crack down, the only guy who potentially gets arrested, processed and deported is Hector and other street-corner sellers; the scumbags hiring him just lose $10 of wholesale fruit, and hire another desperate person who wont ask any questions and will take payment in cash. The fruit being sold could be part of a contaminated recall, etc. How would you find out? You wouldn’t.
Would like to see an investigative reporter track down who’s hiring these guys, and where the fruit is coming from.
This definitely isn’t just Capitol Hill & W Seattle, there’s also a guy who popped up within the last month on Seward Park Ave S in Rainier Beach. There will be guys doing this in every neighborhood soon enough, if money can be made doing it and neighbors and authorities look the other way.
You have been in the city too long. Fresh fruit is picked by the hundreds of tons and must go to market at once, or it rots in a few days.
If you buy a quantity, wholesale, it is cheap. But, then you must sell it in a couple of days … tricky business.
Selling fruit is minimum wage casual labor. No benefits, no contract, day by day, cash on the table at the end of each day.
How else would it work? Ain’t Microsoft …. or Boeing.
What, the market doesn’t have any geese for us to chase? I think we’ll leave the Upton Sinclair stuff to the Stranger.
I bought some delicious strawberries from one of these guys. He freely admitted they were from California. Nice guy. I would definitely buy from him again, but I am sorry to learn that he and others like him may be experiencing exploitation. BTW, I’d much rather support the “Hectors” of the world than see my US tax dollars blown on massive USAID and World Bank projects that mostly benefit obscenely wealthy corporations.
As NickS commented, the blame is completely on whomever is hiring “Hector” to sell the fruit. That’s probably the only good thing about the (still extremely racist) Arizona SB 1070 – penalizing employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. In many European countries, employers are fined such large fees that many would likely go out of business if they hired people who are in the country illegally. However, the current agricultural system is so rigged that in order to get mangoes for 1.99/lb, industrial agriculturalists must rely on less-than-minimum-wage-labor in order to competitively feed mango craving Seattleites, or Missoulans, or New Yorkers, etc… Something’s going to have to change, and most likely, that something will be paying more for the food you eat that’s not in season (a price that actually covers fair wages, transportation, and “resources”).
Oh, and regarding a previous comment’s scam “heritage” tomato theory, if the location of the farm isn’t displayed, or it says Salinas, CA, it should be pretty obvious…either way, heritage breeds typically refer to livestock. Heritage tomatoes are grown and sold, but in the many many visits to farmers markets all over, I can only remember a handful of times seeing a sign for “heritage” anything, unless it’s a chicken or goat. You’re probably thinking of heirloom, which is essentially the same, but applied to fruits and vegetables. I don’t know…maybe “heritage” is the new thing.
N: this was a sound post, you know what you’re talking about. Exploitation/human trafficking/etc…is a huge problem in Seattle but little talked about.
hey Kassi this was a really good story, go ahead with your bad self this was very gritty!
AR SR.