Food for Thought: Hispanic Roots & NYC’s Next Generation Impact

On this special episode of “Horizonte,” Arizona PBS partnered with WorkingNation to present the documentary “Food for Thought: Hispanic Roots and the Next Generation’s Impact on NYC.”

The film explores the intersection between struggle and opportunity in street vending while also highlighting the community organizations working to create a fair future for food workers.

New York City is the most populous city in the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city is estimated to be home to 8,478,072 people as of 2024. According to this documentary, 3.2 million of those are immigrants, which means almost 4 in every 10 New Yorkers are immigrants. Additionally, according to the film, 2 million people in New York are living in poverty, 26% of whom are Latino.

The documentary featured a woman named Maria Angelica Castillo Luna who owns a stand called “Maria’s Mangos.” She has been a street vendor in New York City for 17 years. Luna came to New York City alone when she was 19 years old.

“In other countries, there aren’t many job opportunities; there are no opportunities to get ahead,” Luna said. Luna added that she earns enough to live and eat but not enough to become extraordinarily wealthy.

Luna went on to mention certain struggles that street vendors are now facing, stating, “The government wants me to pay the taxes for my business, but they don’t want to give me a permit to work legally.”

Despite this, many people still work selling food on the streets of New York City and pay a total of $71 million in taxes annually to the New York City Council.

The documentary “Food for Thought: Hispanic Roots and the Next Generation’s Impact on NYC” was made possible thanks to the generosity of Lumina Foundation.