Innovation at the Margins
By Jennifer Esperanza, Senior Director of Organizational Culture and Strategy
October 1, 2025
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During my college years in Los Angeles, I spent a lot of time eating from a food truck in a parking lot where campus janitorial staff and maintenance workers often grabbed lunch. As a struggling student on a limited budget, I could always count on being able to afford a massive burrito or a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel that could last me for about two days. This was during the early 1990s, when food trucks were not yet widespread, were mostly operated by Latinos, but carried the unfortunate nickname of “roach coaches” because of their perceived unsanitariness. I never had a bad meal from that truck, and in fact would occasionally treat myself to a dessert of paletas (Mexican-style popsicles) or mango slices dipped in chili from the old man who pushed his dessert cart up and down the sidewalks of south-central L.A.
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Fast-forward to the present day, and we see the ubiquity of street food catering to a wide variety of cuisines and price-points. Food trucks have fed millions of Americans, as well as created new business opportunities for many restauranteurs who wouldn’t have been able to afford a brick-and-mortar shop. Street food and its evolution is just one example of the many ways that small, but innovative business practices from the Hispanic community can launch a myriad of other opportunities that benefit everybody. As we strive to engage more consumers with our products and services, credit unions need not look at the most popular, large-scale, or expensive strategies. The best and most sustainable ideas can be found by paying attention to consumers in the periphery—the immigrants (such as Hispanics), cash-strapped consumers, and globally-oriented members who must attend to their daily financial needs.
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Aside from food trucks, Hispanics in the US have also been pioneers in other areas that have gained ground in the mainstream. Take gig economy work, for example. According to a 2021 study by the Pew Research Center, “Hispanic adults are more likely than other racial or ethnic groups to have done gig work.” Gig economy workers not only include drivers and delivery workers for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, but also those who perform household tasks or run errands like cleaning homes, gardening, or picking up dry cleaning. These workers are paid once the task has been completed and now rely on digital apps to find their next job opportunity, get paid, and make deposits into their financial institutions. What started as largely a source of income for Hispanics and other working-class immigrants, has now gained traction among Veterans, young Millenials and GenZ ers , and other workers seeking more flexible sources of income. The rise of gig economy work has prompted many credit unions to modify their practices to anticipate fluctuating deposits and to develop more digital-friendly solutions for workers on the go.
As Hispanic Heritage Month continues this month, let’s continue to recognize the contributions of new and long-standing Hispanic immigrants to our country, by acknowledging how communities who are often perceived to be on the sidelines are actually paving the way for innovative banking, entrepreneurial ventures, and future-proofing solutions.