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Mill Lei, right, owner of an Asian food market in San Francisco Chinatown, speaks at the U.S. Department of Agriculture meeting in Chinatown. Yvonne Lee, Commissioner of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, translates for Lei. Photo by Portia Li

Asian food businesses urge U.S. Department of Agriculture to diversify its marketing and contracting programs

SAN FRANCISCO — Asian food businesses urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to diversify its marketing and contracting programs to include food and crops from the Asian community who make up 15.5% of the population in California and 7.2% across the nation.

  • (SAN FRANCISCO) The popular Sunset Night Market created by Supervisor Joel Engardio in 2023 will return in 2024 with three night events on August 30, September 21 and 27. The Irving Street venue will be kept for two night markets and expanded to seven blocks aiming to accommodate 125 to 150 vendors.

    The popular Sunset Night Market was first held in September 2023. It returns in 2024 with 3 events in August and September. Photo by Portia Li

  • (SAN FRANCISCO) After 40 years in business, Lee’s Deli fast food restaurant closed all of its 14 locations in San Francisco downtown starting 2023 and ending in February 2024. The restaurant also owed wages from its workers. 17 of them were not able to recover their unpaid wages until recently through the advocacy of the Chinese Progressive Association and a group of workers rights organizations.

    Lee’s Deli was in business for 40 years with up to 16 locations before the pandemic. It closed 12 of them in 2023 and closed the remaining two locations in February 2024, including this one at 75 Battery Street. Photo by Portia Li

  • (SAN FRANCISCO) In the daytime, Ethel O’Yang Reddy is the Vice President and Financial Center Manager of the Bank of America. After she finishes all her daily banking work, she is a business owner running her beloved company as a beauty specialist. No matter if she is a banking executive or beauty consultant, Reddy never forgets her roots as a Chinese American and continuously gives back to the Chinatown community.

    Vice President of Bank of America Ethel O’Yang Reddy celebrates her 40th anniversary serving at the bank and the Chinese community. (Photo by Portia Li)

  • (SAN FRANCISCO) After a 4-hour public hearing, the Board of Appeals voted 4:1 on April 17 evening to grant the appeal filed by the merchants on Grant Avenue in Chinatown and modified the permit with conditions including the lion dance performances to be allowed only on Saturday afternoon until June 30, 2024.

    Under the amended permit, LionDanceMe can only have their performances on the 700 block of Grant Avenue in Chinatown and on Saturday only. Photo by Portia Li

  • (SAN FRANCISCO) A new law in California, AB 1228, has raised the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour starting April 1, 2024. There are some exemptions under this new law including the popular dim sum and bakery restaurants and cafes.

    New California law raises minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour starting April 1, 2024. Dim sum, bakery and some fast food restaurants are exempted. Screenshot

  • (SAN FRANCISCO) Crime, language barrier, pandemic are the challenges faced by San Francisco Asian small business owners who requested for more resources from all levels of governmental agencies.

    AAPI Strong small business roundtable series conference is held on February 2 in San Francisco. Photo by Portia Li

  • (SAN FRANCISCO) Although San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has promptly installed a pedestrian bridge after receiving complaints from the Taraval Street merchants on the L Taraval Improvement Project, the small businesses on the 3-block Taraval Street demand compensation from the city due to lack of parking spaces that have hurt their businesses the most.

    Residents and customers are delighted to see a pedestrian bridge installed in the middle of the 3-block long construction zone on Taraval Street. Photo by Portia Li

  • (SAN FRANCISCO) "What can I do? What can I do?" Shu Bo Wang said when she was anxiously sitting at one of the empty tables in her dumplings restaurant on Taraval Street waiting for customers walking in on the evening of January 18.

    Small businesses in Sunset District are hit hard by L Taraval Improvement Project with no parking and no crossing restrictions. Photo by Portia Li

  • (SAN FRANCISCO) One of the new laws in effect on New Year Day in 2024 is the California statewide minimum wage which will increase to $16 per hour. Workers in two industries will receive a greater boost in mid 2024 to $20 per hour for the fast food restaurant workers and $23 per hour for the health care workers.

    Effective January 1, 2024, the minimum wage is $16.00 per hour for all employers in California. Some cities and counties have raised their minimum wages above $16 including San Francisco at $18.07 since July 1, 2023. Photo by Portia Li