Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach has a new food truck, and it is not just for show. Students in the school's culinary arts program will cook the food, build the menu, and manage the money behind SoFlo Delights, a fully equipped truck donated through Intuit's Food Truck Program.
The vehicle itself is worth more than $200,000, according to NBC Miami, which reported that the truck will give students a chance to learn culinary arts, entrepreneurship, and the financial skills needed to run a business. Blanche Ely is the first school in Florida and the 12th nationwide to receive a truck through the program, the station reported.
As Axios reported, the truck will be run entirely by students in the culinary arts program, giving them firsthand experience in the culinary and hospitality industries while they practice real business skills. Superintendent Howard Hepburn said the project excites him both for the opportunities it creates for students and for the food itself. “The food truck is an amazing opportunity for students to learn entrepreneurship, culinary art skills and the soft skills needed to run a business,” Hepburn said, adding that students will receive continuous support to help the business flourish, per Axios.
Students Will Handle the Books, Not Just the Grill
The hands-on model goes well beyond the kitchen window. According to the Broward County Public Schools announcement, students will be responsible for everything from developing menus and creating marketing materials to handling all the finances, including bookkeeping, accounting and taxes. That means Blanche Ely's culinary students are also taking on budgeting and resource management as part of running SoFlo Delights, per Axios.
The district's announcement notes that students will also have access to Intuit's financial literacy curriculum, Intuit for Education, which includes QuickBooks, TurboTax, Mailchimp and Credit Karma. The program combines hands-on business experience with financial education and business technology tools to help students build practical skills and confidence, the district said.
Rory Brown, the school's culinary arts teacher, said the student-driven approach will shape what ends up on the truck's menu. “The menu will be very interesting,” Brown said, describing it as basic food with a twist, according to Axios. Students will have direct input into those menu decisions, the outlet reported.
A Student's New Love of Cooking
For some students, the truck has already changed how they think about their future. Kara, a 12th grader in the culinary arts program, said she has discovered a love for food and cooking through the experience, according to Axios.
Food sold from SoFlo Delights will show up at Blanche Ely basketball and football games as well as at events throughout the Pompano Beach community, NBC Miami reported. Revenue generated by the truck will be reinvested into the program, allowing it to grow and create additional opportunities for students, the station's report noted.
Part of a Bigger Intuit Push
Intuit has said it wants to help students become financially literate, capable and career-ready by 2030, according to NBC Miami's report. The company describes its broader mission as helping 50 million students become financially literate, capable and confident by that year, according to Intuit, which runs the free work-based learning program that provides fully equipped food trucks and mobile food carts to high schools around the country.
Blanche Ely joins a small but growing list of schools that have received trucks through the program. Dallas ISD unveiled a student-designed and operated truck in 2024 as the first of its kind in Texas and only the third such program in the country at the time. In California, Compton High School received a similarly equipped truck with a commercial-grade kitchen after its culinary program had gone without a kitchen for a decade, giving students there a chance to learn both cooking skills and how to manage a food truck business.
Any mobile food operation in Florida still has to meet state rules before serving the public. A Mobile Food Dispensing Vehicle license lets operators travel to different locations statewide, but menu items are limited to what the truck's equipment can actually prepare, according to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. New licensees must also pass a sanitation and safety inspection before opening, and food storage and preparation must take place in an approved, licensed food service establishment rather than a private residence, the agency says. Water tanks must be filled and wastewater emptied at a commercial, non-residential location as well, per the same state guidance.
