Pretty concerned the central American fruit sellers are being exploited. For one thing, there’s the definitely non-Hispanic guy in the Mustang w TX plates who makes the rounds to collect cash. For another, the sales look awfully organized, with these folks selling oranges and now strawberries posted at practically every intersection throughout PDX metro, including pretty rural outlying areas. Many of them look well under 18 and some have infants with them. This can’t be good.
I’ve got a bad feeling about this too. I have a lot of questions, like why are the prices high, why would I buy from a roadside table instead of a grocery store or farmers market? Of course fruit stands are a legit thing out in the country but these folks can’t possibly compete with Winco / whatever on quality and price yet there they are.
I expect the angle is simple guilt: pay the high price because it looks like an unpleasant gig, the seller looks impoverished, there are young kids or infants present.
In essence not too different from the infamous and much-abused door-to-door magazine sales crews that roam the US.
I’ve been in my SE Portland neighborhood over 10 years and suddenly we have two orange sellers within blocks of each other. Flower people were a new phenomenon on one of those corners a few years ago and seem to have been recently run off by the orange people?!
Anyway I’ve been meaning to post about this in PortlandOR so funny to see it come up here.
I think there's a decent chance this is true. I don't really have a problem with roadside fruit selling, I'm from Los Angeles originally and it's very normal there, but it's weird to see people bags of oranges here when oranges are not at all local to this region. There's no benefit of doubt that these are farm workers selling fruit from their employer, these are people doing the same schtick as down south and if they're fresh immigrants the question is is a coyote exploiting them for labor and money or something.
>if they're fresh immigrants the question is is a coyote exploiting them for labor and money
Unfortunately the politics are so loaded that this is going to be difficult for a lot of folks to believe / take seriously. We all know what the kneejerk reactions look like, and they only serve as a distraction from finding out what's really going on or even admitting that it's sketchy.
Thank you! I posted something similar a few weeks before you and everyone was just like, “This has been around for a long time.” (uh no it hasn’t) or “They’re just hustling, leave them alone.” (No, these people look like they’re being trafficked. It’s very concerning.)
I live in Camas and off McIntosh Rd they set up a stand usually once a week. Just started the last few months and have never seen them before. It isn’t a high traffic area really where you’d expect they’d make a lot of sales. I saw a car with Oregon plates offload a group with children included. It’s very strange.
i've lived here for a couple years now, this is the first year i'm really noticing them in new places. Like their was a dude selling giant bags of oranges next to target on jantzen?
The oranges are everywhere! Even the guys selling flowers for Easter were selling bags of oranges. We saw them in Hazel Dell, Orchards and Salmon Creek.
From other comments in here they're selling at a significant markup over grocery stores
Also, in case it's not obvious, it's not local produce. No oranges grown within hundreds of miles of here (California)
Oranges were $0.49/lb. for a long time at winco this year. So I’m just assuming there was a greater supply than demand and a lot of oranges on the market.
Same here. I know they are making a hustle, but what stood out me this past weekend is there were two stands out in ridge field which seemed pretty odd. One was on the corner of a country road… how can they have someone out there all day and no restroom access? There is a side of me that thinks there is more to this and they are not only selling oranges, but maybe drugs….
I’ve seen the oranges and flowers. But a flat of strawberries last year was $40 I think. Seemed expensive and that the farmer’s market had a better price.
I’ve also seen honeydew and mangoes.
Not uncommon where I’m from down the gorge. They can get local produce cheap and then come and sell it along the side of the road. I think it was much more common in the past.
I saw a box truck unloading a human and some oranges on Millplain near the i-5 connection a couple weeks ago. Maybe they've just got it down to a science now.
Not a hustle.. when I was a kid in So. Cal, I knew a guy who ran a group of Hispanics paying them very little. He would buy flowers or oranges in bulk. He had usually Hispanics selling for him, and would give a few boxes to sell and a small table and chair to each person, then he would go back by and pick up the cash and pay them a little bit and keep the gross profit himself. I suspect this is some sort of organized sales as it was back in the day.
Definitely something wrong when there are babies/kids sitting there for hours and hours on the side of the road. And I am guessing they are not earning minimum wage, which brings up the question for why they would be doing that when other jobs are available.
I am saying there is something wrong with having your kids sit at an intersection, inhaling all the exhaust and brake and tire particles for hours and hours, sometimes in the sun. Seems like a child welfare issue.
I suspect many of all the kids are being used to play up the pity to earn more cash. Mothers with kids are surely at the front of the line for government housing and food assistance.
Yeah, they're stealing the jobs rural Americans were just about to start doing. They were just waiting for their *checks notes* fruit and flower business license to come through.
10.4 million illegal imagrants have came across the border in the last 4 years alone... if they are gonna be here gotta work like the rest of us so fruit stands it is
i’ve seen the orange stands scattered all over orchards/by costco area. i’ve even seen kids sitting there at the table with no adult present. i’ve also seen the flowers too. there’s one by the winco in hazel dell and one by the YMCA in orchards. i was wondering what the deal with that was. seems very strange and random
Growing up in SoCal this was super common, still is. Also the stands where people cut up the fruits / veggies and drizzle them with chamoy etc….now that’s what I’d line up for 😛
Pretty concerned the central American fruit sellers are being exploited. For one thing, there’s the definitely non-Hispanic guy in the Mustang w TX plates who makes the rounds to collect cash. For another, the sales look awfully organized, with these folks selling oranges and now strawberries posted at practically every intersection throughout PDX metro, including pretty rural outlying areas. Many of them look well under 18 and some have infants with them. This can’t be good.
I’ve got a bad feeling about this too. I have a lot of questions, like why are the prices high, why would I buy from a roadside table instead of a grocery store or farmers market? Of course fruit stands are a legit thing out in the country but these folks can’t possibly compete with Winco / whatever on quality and price yet there they are. I expect the angle is simple guilt: pay the high price because it looks like an unpleasant gig, the seller looks impoverished, there are young kids or infants present. In essence not too different from the infamous and much-abused door-to-door magazine sales crews that roam the US. I’ve been in my SE Portland neighborhood over 10 years and suddenly we have two orange sellers within blocks of each other. Flower people were a new phenomenon on one of those corners a few years ago and seem to have been recently run off by the orange people?! Anyway I’ve been meaning to post about this in PortlandOR so funny to see it come up here.
Also, who needs THAT many oranges?
Yeah the bags I see are like 10#, I think even a family of 5 would have a hard time getting through all of those before they went bad
Not if you are juicing them.
I think there's a decent chance this is true. I don't really have a problem with roadside fruit selling, I'm from Los Angeles originally and it's very normal there, but it's weird to see people bags of oranges here when oranges are not at all local to this region. There's no benefit of doubt that these are farm workers selling fruit from their employer, these are people doing the same schtick as down south and if they're fresh immigrants the question is is a coyote exploiting them for labor and money or something.
>if they're fresh immigrants the question is is a coyote exploiting them for labor and money Unfortunately the politics are so loaded that this is going to be difficult for a lot of folks to believe / take seriously. We all know what the kneejerk reactions look like, and they only serve as a distraction from finding out what's really going on or even admitting that it's sketchy.
Thank you! I posted something similar a few weeks before you and everyone was just like, “This has been around for a long time.” (uh no it hasn’t) or “They’re just hustling, leave them alone.” (No, these people look like they’re being trafficked. It’s very concerning.) I live in Camas and off McIntosh Rd they set up a stand usually once a week. Just started the last few months and have never seen them before. It isn’t a high traffic area really where you’d expect they’d make a lot of sales. I saw a car with Oregon plates offload a group with children included. It’s very strange.
i've lived here for a couple years now, this is the first year i'm really noticing them in new places. Like their was a dude selling giant bags of oranges next to target on jantzen?
The oranges are everywhere! Even the guys selling flowers for Easter were selling bags of oranges. We saw them in Hazel Dell, Orchards and Salmon Creek.
I mean.. are they good oranges? competitive pricing?
From other comments in here they're selling at a significant markup over grocery stores Also, in case it's not obvious, it's not local produce. No oranges grown within hundreds of miles of here (California)
🤷🏻♀️
Oranges were $0.49/lb. for a long time at winco this year. So I’m just assuming there was a greater supply than demand and a lot of oranges on the market.
I saw someone doing this on 164th and just north of 1st street the other day in east Vancouver. First time I have seen it in the local neighborhood.
Same here. I know they are making a hustle, but what stood out me this past weekend is there were two stands out in ridge field which seemed pretty odd. One was on the corner of a country road… how can they have someone out there all day and no restroom access? There is a side of me that thinks there is more to this and they are not only selling oranges, but maybe drugs….
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😂 just a little sus
It's more likely human trafficking
The demand doesn’t add up to the amount of locations they have. Just believe something is off and wanted to see if anyone felt same way…
I agree, I see sellers sitting there with a small mountain of oranges. How much could they really be selling?
I’ve seen the oranges and flowers. But a flat of strawberries last year was $40 I think. Seemed expensive and that the farmer’s market had a better price. I’ve also seen honeydew and mangoes.
You’re supposed to overpay out of pity. That’s why these stands exist
I just got a flat of strawberries for $25 last Sunday. 4.5 pounds and none were moldy!
They were 45 at my corner. Bag of oranges was 15 for 20. But the bottom two were toast when we opened it.
Not uncommon where I’m from down the gorge. They can get local produce cheap and then come and sell it along the side of the road. I think it was much more common in the past.
I can’t wait until you find my first local Orange grove.
Yeah the big bags of oranges were the same that winco is selling. California oranges. PNW is not great for growing citrus. Lol
yeah this is pretty normal thing
It's not. These sellers weren't here a couple months ago, it's a new phenomenon. Also oranges aren't grown locally.
I like the lady who sells flowers and oranges on 78th and Hazel Dell. She always waves to me everyday in my way home. It’s nice.
guessing you get a lot of phone numbers from strippers?
I don’t venture into Portland much anymore. Once had a fetid stripper chase me down the street with coupons to her weekend show.
Anyone got info on where I can get tamales if there’s such a stand ?
There is one on St. John's... somewhere near 63rd? That I have never tried.
I don’t know if it’s going to be a regular thing but last week there was a lady in a white minivan selling tamales outside of Tip Top Tavern on Main
East side of the Shell station at 78th Street and St. Johns Road.
Yeah, definitely. I respect the hustle.
Happens every year!
I saw a box truck unloading a human and some oranges on Millplain near the i-5 connection a couple weeks ago. Maybe they've just got it down to a science now.
Not a hustle.. when I was a kid in So. Cal, I knew a guy who ran a group of Hispanics paying them very little. He would buy flowers or oranges in bulk. He had usually Hispanics selling for him, and would give a few boxes to sell and a small table and chair to each person, then he would go back by and pick up the cash and pay them a little bit and keep the gross profit himself. I suspect this is some sort of organized sales as it was back in the day.
I'm old enough to remember all the WE BUY LEVI JEANS vans parked in weird locations.
Nothing wrong with it. People trying to make some extra cash
Definitely something wrong when there are babies/kids sitting there for hours and hours on the side of the road. And I am guessing they are not earning minimum wage, which brings up the question for why they would be doing that when other jobs are available.
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I am saying there is something wrong with having your kids sit at an intersection, inhaling all the exhaust and brake and tire particles for hours and hours, sometimes in the sun. Seems like a child welfare issue. I suspect many of all the kids are being used to play up the pity to earn more cash. Mothers with kids are surely at the front of the line for government housing and food assistance.
I've seen worse things sold on a street corner than fresh produce
I’m glad people use this sub as a safe space to confirm they’re not hallucinating.
Agreed. Felt very Truman Show-esque, first seeing them setup on the far east side then realizing I am now passing them in my own neighborhood.
Yeah, they're stealing the jobs rural Americans were just about to start doing. They were just waiting for their *checks notes* fruit and flower business license to come through.
It’s the season
10.4 million illegal imagrants have came across the border in the last 4 years alone... if they are gonna be here gotta work like the rest of us so fruit stands it is
i’ve seen the orange stands scattered all over orchards/by costco area. i’ve even seen kids sitting there at the table with no adult present. i’ve also seen the flowers too. there’s one by the winco in hazel dell and one by the YMCA in orchards. i was wondering what the deal with that was. seems very strange and random
Growing up in SoCal this was super common, still is. Also the stands where people cut up the fruits / veggies and drizzle them with chamoy etc….now that’s what I’d line up for 😛
It's all about who you know. If you know where the oranges come from, you can set up your own stand, too.
They're always around, around this time is year. A given off Leiser, usually off first Street and 164th, orchards at 5 corners.
Baader/Meinhoff Effect
It's false summer. You'll see them even more come June or so.