Los Angeles Unified School District officials Friday unveiled a new food truck to serve student-prepared food to local communities while preparing students with disabilities for a career.
The vehicle, which was produced in Japan and later built in Florida, is an electric replica of a classic 1960s Volkswagen bus – the type thats typically seen with surfboards strapped on the roof.
The rolling blue and white classroom named Finn’s Rolling Cafe, will allow up to three students at a time to serve menu items prepared from the school’s on-campus bistro at Ernest P. Willenberg Career and Transition Center. That restaurant is also student-operated.
Prepared items in the van will then be served at other schools in the San Pedro area.
The van is intended to help students with disabilities develop workforce skills in the service industry.
“It takes a village to build their future,” said Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho during an unveiling ceremony at the education center. “Everyone has a place in our community, and everyone has something big to contribute.”
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The transition center has a long history of successfully preparing students with disabilities for life outside of the classroom. On average, the schools work program doubles, sometimes even triples, the national average rate of employment for people with special needs at roughly 30% of graduates. The national average is just 8%.
“They come in as young as adults from high school that are somewhat impulsive and may not know where they’re headed,” said the school’s principal Gavin Mirigliani. “But after they graduate from here, they’ve got direction. They’ve got a path.”
Finn’s Rolling Cafe could start serving food as soon as Friday night during a high school football game in San Pedro.