San Diego is gaining another food truck.
This one will soon be run by high school students, combining cooking with lessons in how to run a business.
Tuesday, the San Diego Unified School District unveiled its state-of-the-art food truck paid for in a partnership with Intuit.
The kitchen on wheels will provide work-based learning for culinary students at Mira Mesa, Hoover, San Diego, Garfield, and Morse high schools.
“Oh, I’m very excited,” said Taiga Pangelinan, 17, a senior at Morse High School with a father who is Pacific Islander and a mother who is Japanese.
“My family loves to cook with Spam, and I love to cook it. On my mom’s side, if I get the chance, I like to make ramen,” he said.
More than 300 culinary students attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, not only to learn more about the district’s college, career, and technical education programs, but also to be inspired by those who have already found success.
Spencer Hunter was a 2009 graduate of San Diego Unified and has gone on to own Lia’s Lumpia Restaurant, which he said allows him to honor his Black and Filipino heritage.
He was the keynote speaker for Tuesday’s event.
“Think of your career in terms of resilience. So, just because you failed in one area, doesn’t mean you’re not going to succeed in another,” Hunter told the students.
Sarah Vielma is director of the district’s College, Career, and Technical Education. She said, “I think that idea of being able to bring something so real to students, that they are actual participants in running and operating the food truck is a really exciting thing for them.”
Taiga Pangelinan is ready to cook on the road for everyone to enjoy his Asian-inspired food before he graduates.
“If they do come afterward and tell me the food was great, that’s what makes me happy. That’s what makes me feel I accomplished what I was meant to do,” he said.