Most cyclists bike around their cities as a form of transit or exercise, but members of the Chicago, Illinois collective Cycling x Solidarity take their bike love to a whole new level.
As Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues its targeted crackdown in Chicago, at least three street vendors have been detained by agents, in addition to thousands of others with no proof of criminal history.
So, cyclists are doing their part to support migrant workers who own and operate food stalls in the city.
Over the weekend, Cycling x Solidarity joined the Street Vendors Association of Chicago to lead a Street Vendor Bike Tour. Their goal was to buy out a day’s worth of food from each food cart they visited.
“For the past month or so, ICE has been terrorizing our neighborhoods, [so] we’ve been riding out in the mornings and buying out street vendors — buying everything they have so they can go home and be safe with their families,” one cyclist told journalist Priscilla Ferreyra.
In addition to financially supporting the vendors who have seen lower sales in recent weeks due to ICE’s presence in the area, it also encourages them to go home and be with their families, safe in the privacy of their own homes.
“It’s been really tough on them,” Maria Orozco, development manager and outreach coordinator with the Street Vendors Association of Chicago, told Block Club Chicago.
“And then the people that have the opportunity to go out and sell or just risk it, they’re not getting as much sales as they used to. So it’s something very traumatizing for people to see. … It’s very unexpected. I think COVID wasn’t even this bad.”
According to an Instagram post by the community, over the past weekend, more than 30 cyclists bought out six vendors on Saturday, and three on Sunday. Their purchases resulted in a total of 250 burritos, gift bags, and drinks being distributed to others in need throughout the city.
And that was just in one weekend. A few days prior, nine cyclists did the same thing with five street vendors in Little Village, gathering tamales, elote, and chicharrones in one fell swoop.
“Cash from you, straight to them, and then food distributed right back into the community,” a social media post from the group reads. “ICE might terrorize our communities, but they can’t destroy our spirit.”
This has been going on for about a month, when the group began collecting funds from community members to buy out vendors in Pilsen, Hermosa, and Little Village, areas vulnerable to ICE crackdowns. They get out early in the mornings so vendors can pack up early to avoid ICE agents.
“Despite the fear in the community, it never fails to move us when vendors are surprised to hear we want to buy everything they have,” Cycling x Solidarity shared on Instagram.
“We want every vendor to be able to go home to their families at the end of the day after feeding our city.”
The cyclists share stories on their Instagram pages regularly, each more heartwarming than the last.
“It’s not about everyone showing up every day. It’s about every day, somebody showing up,” one post reads. “This morning, three cyclists braved the rain to buy out two vendors. One vendor had their young child waiting in the car and started immediately packing up after we bought everything she had. I hope they enjoyed the rest of the day somewhere warm and comfy.”
In addition to the acts of generosity, the cyclists try to spend time talking with street vendors, learning their stories, and enjoying a delicious bite of their own.
“We’re providing an opportunity to support vendors and hearing their stories, to make this so it’s not just transactional,” Cycling x Solidarity organizer Rick Rosales told Block Club Chicago.
The group is always looking for more folks to join in, including translators, who can help build even more connections with the city’s street vendors.
“To me, it embodies what it means to be an American,” Rosales said. “My fondest memories are [street vendors] handing these warm tamales for a reasonable price and being able to support them and their hustle. I think a lot of Chicagoans have a similar feeling toward them. They cherish the vendors in their neighborhood.”
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Header images courtesy of Cycling x Solidarity/Instagram
