The ecology of street foods in Nairobi

Very little is known about street foods in sub-Sahara Africa. We investigat ed the scope of the street food phenomenon in Nairobi, both in the past and present, with the aim of establishing circumstances surrounding its practi ce and its function in the urban food supply. We found that street food ven ding and consumption in Nairobi rapidly increased during the previous two d ecades, instigated by the need for affordable food among low-income urban d wellers and the need for employment. It is an expanding and thriving phenom enon, especially among the urban poor, and climbs up the socio-economic lad der due to increasing monetary demands. In addition to being a food supply channel for the urban poor, street food vending in Nairobi provides employm ent opportunities to a labour force that would otherwise be unemployed. The re is need to legitimize the sector with simple regulations that make the f ood safe but not expensive.