The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is launching a student-run food truck program to provide practical culinary and business education.
Korean-American star chef Roy Choi, known as the ‘Godfather of Food Trucks’, attended the unveiling event on January 31 at Maywood Academy High School to encourage aspiring young chefs.
Intuit donated two commercial food trucks for students in the district’s Career Technical Education program, according to LAUSD. This will allow about 100 students to learn to operate, design, and brand their food trucks under the guidance of educators.
“As a way to give back, we’ve now donated six food trucks to school districts across the country, with two going to LAUSD’s Maywood Academy and John H. Francis Polytechnic High School,” said Keri Danielski, Head of External Corporate Communications at Intuit. “They were assigned to schools specifically in low-income areas that often lack diverse educational opportunities.”
Chef Roy Choi came forward to share a message of encouragement with the students at the event. “In 2008, I lost my job and started a food truck in LA Koreatown, and I decided to make food that represented my community, which I had always seen and felt,” said Choi, sharing the story of the early days of his food truck, Kogi.
“The Kogi food truck brought a small part of us as immigrants, as minorities, and as a result, it changed the food industry and it changed the social media industry,” he said. “It’s important to realize that this food truck is not just a business opportunity, but it can represent you and your culture. From the smallest idea and from the smallest community, things with worldwide impact can be born.”
The event also featured seven different food trucks, including Chef Choi’s Kogi truck, serving lunch to students at the school.
“This was my first time seeing Chef Choi in person, and his message was very motivating,” said Sheroll Romero, 18, a student at Maywood Academy High School. “I personally really enjoy cooking, but I thought it was hard to learn how to do it professionally. But I’m glad that we have this opportunity to learn about the food industry and experience different things through the food truck like this.”
“It’s important for students to have a variety of paths to choose from,” said LAUSD Board President Jackie Goldberg. “I’ve heard that learning to cook or taking classes is a big investment, and I think this can help. I hope our students are proud of their choices and what they have learned.”
BY SUAH JANG, HOONSIK WOO [jang.suah@koreadaily.com]
