Your favorite lunchtime food vendor could be traveling to a new location following this week's city review panel of all downtown food carts.
Members of Madison's Vending Oversight Committee, as well as some city employee volunteers, make up a team of 25 to 30 judges who will sample the food and drinks throughout the week at each of the roughly 40 vending carts in both Library Mall and on the Capitol Square.
""The main purpose of the review is to decide and designate who can go where based on the points system,"" Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, and panel judge, said. ""Frankly our obligation is to get stomachaches this week.""
Verveer said the judges base their rankings on food quality, cart aesthetics and originality of type of merchandise. The vendors with the highest ranking will have first choice of their location for the next year.
""Each of the cart vendors is different,"" Verveer said. ""Some of them feel very strongly that they can make more money on Library Mall and some feel strongly that their following is on the Capitol Square.""
The vending coordinator who is responsible for tallying the scores, Warren Hansen, could not be reached for comment.
Dan Cox of the Jamerica food cart said he has been in Library Mall since 1999, and that the Buraka and Loose Juice carts have been there even longer.
The well-known ""fruit stand,"" however, has been in its location in front of the University Bookstore for 30 years, Fresh Wind Produce's Don Helley said.
""We've had a pretty good record,"" Helley said. ""We're always in the top three.""
Verveer has been judging the vending carts for over ten years. Though he wouldn't name his favorite cart, he said he thinks the overall food cart program in Madison is very unique.
""You can't just open up a cart and sell cans of soda,"" he said. ""There are rules that everything that you sell has to be fresh and personally prepared.""
The VOC will meet next Wednesday, Sep. 30, to review the scoring and approve the list of vending locations for the next year, which begins and ends April 15.
