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.