LOS ANGELES – Originally from Pueblo, Mexico, Heleo Leyva is a local street vendor and gardening teacher, passing on native planting techniques and preserving heritage seeds. But it's his work in vending street food that he's most known for – creating and running something called Community Cookouts. It's street food, with a quick and clever twist.  

The food Leyva serves for Community Cookouts is completely free for the community. He does ongoing fundraising on social media, intended to help supplement food in areas where food access is scarce or in communities that don't speak English. The language barrier oftentimes prevents people from accessing the city aid programs that are meant for them. Leyva's father instilled in him the idea that no matter how little one has, one gives back to your community. 

"My father's side, he's native, and so part of being native is sharing what you can," Leyva said.

But Leyva does it differently than most vendors. He sets up his spot, cooks the food, serves it, and takes down the entire operation in two hours or less. He said he does this to fly under the radar, to avoid the harassment and potential violence common among street vendors. 

We see the headlines frequently, street vendors being harassed by customers, passersby, even police. A few weeks ago, in mid-June, a street vendor in Lynwood was brutally attacked and robbed by a group of people, and in March of this year, a man in Fresno was fatally shot while vending. Los Angeles Police Department statistics show that in the first eight months of 2020, there were 100 reported calls about street vendor harassment. 

So Leyva devised this "guerilla, renegade" style of street vending to avoid that as much as possible. He even wears a hat that bears the official logo of the city of East Hollywood, although it's not sanctioned through the city. He had it made to look official enough that it might make someone think twice about harassing him – even the police. 

"We did the hat with the city logo because we basically do the city's work in a way, taking care of the people the city abandoned," Leyva said..

Community Cookouts, in operation only since July of 2020, has been a major success. In just one year, Leyva's free cookouts have handed out more than 5,000 plates of food. Leyva is very careful to keep an accounting on the funds raised, food purchased and plates sold, which he posts publicly to social media. It's been so successful, in fact, that it has spawned several offshoots. One called the Mid-City Cookout fundraises to pay street vendors who attend the cookout to have a guaranteed income in participation and a financial boost to keep them going. Another satellite operation happens in the Central Valley, intended to feed farmworkers. 

Leyva said he does this work, despite the risks of harassment, because he believes he's uniquely suited to straddle two worlds – to win the trust of the communities he serves. At the same time, he can also successfully fundraise in the communities that can help. 

"I get tired too, it's tiring to do this kind of work, but if it wasn't me, I don't think it would be possible," Leyva said.