Street food vendors buy the food ingredients mainly within Matariya. Staples like oil, rice, sugar and pasta are purchased from local grocers. Bread, which is the only subsidized commodity that vendors have unlimited access to, is bought from the bakeries in the area. Oil, sugar, tea and rice are on the ration card, but because their amount is restricted, ¹⁰ and because street food vendors have no special license to obtain higher amounts, the ration card is of no commercial value to them; therefore vendors make their purchase out on the free market. Vegetables are bought from the two local markets in Matariya, Suuq el Khaniis and Suuq Simaika. Fresh meat products are supplied by local butchers, and frozen, imported meat is bought from special shops. If vendors have a high turnover they, however, will buy their offal, cheap fats and sometimes liver outside Matanya, from the slaughterhouse in El Khanka. A more detailed picture concerning turnover, customers and profits will be described in the following:

Meat Sandwiches and Plates: The liver sandwiches are made with at least five ingredients: liver, fat, oil and vegetables, and, ofcourse, bread. Excepting the meat, all commodities are bought in Matariya the average stall has a daily turnover of 5 kg of liver, which makes roughly 100 sandwiches and serves approximately 100 customers. Some vendors can sell up to 10 kg, or even 20 kg of liver, but, of course, in order to handle this level of turnover they must hire paid labor.” Stalls offering hawawshi are always located close to a butcher in order to use its facilities for processing and storage of the meat. In return, the vendors pay a rent normally ranging between LE 100 to LE 150 a month. The average turnover varies between 5 and 10 kg of minced meat serving an average of 150 customers and making a daily profit of around LE 24. Offal is bought from the slaughterhouse in El Khanka, and as daily turnovers can go up to 75 kg per stall. To purchase meat products suppliers normally accept delayed payment from the vendors.

Snacks and Sweets: Lupines are normally bought in Matariya; only one vendor goes to buy them from Sahel, and the suppliers are paid in cash. Some of the vendors sell lupines together with chickpeas; their turnover is around 5 kg a day and profits run about LE 3 per kilo. The grilled maize is mainly sold by women¹² in the late afternoon and evening during the summer months. The maize cobs are bought from different sources within Greater Cairo, such as Shubra Al-Kheima and Al-Marq in the north of Cairo and from Dair Al-Malaak and Ghamra in Central Cairo. The suppliers are paid in cash and occasionally by delayed payment at the end of the day for example. The daily turnover is generally around 100 pieces, generating a profit of about LB 12 daily. Popcorn is made with maize and oil, the maize being purchased daily, and the oil purchased weekly in Matariya. The suppliers ask for cash payment. The daily turnover of popcorn is around 4 kg, The ice cream business, in Matariya, is an exception. It is organized centrally by a wholesaler from Bzbet el Nakhl, a neighborhood in the north of Matariya The wholesaler offers both the product and the necessary equipment:

processed ice cream, tricycle-carts to distribute the ice cream, accommodation and credit, especially to seasonal workers coming from outside Cairo. The vendors buy the first kilo of ice cream for LE 8.5, which includes the rent for the tri-cycle and the equipment for selling ice cream, and pay LB 4 per kilo for the subsequent purchases. hi addition to this, vendors must spend about 75 piasters daily for the ice which is needed to cool the ice cream. Their average daily turnover is about 6.5 kg, serving up to 200 customers (who pay 10 to 25 piasters for the ice cream) and generating a profit of around LB 20.