Student-run mobile bakery truck nourishes South LA community through food, books

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A mobile food truck is giving students lessons in how to run a business.

The bakery on wheels is rolling out delicious baked goods for the community to enjoy, while also teaching elementary and high school students how to become future business owners.

"They are actually owners of the bakery," said Dolores Sheen, the executive director of the Sheenway School and Cultural Center in South Los Angeles.

"They are learning entrepreneurship by operating, by creating, learning about branding, financial literacy, people skills," she added.

She says the idea for the bakery was born in 1981 due to an abundance of pumpkins and the school's benefactor, the late actor-comedian Richard Pryor.

"We wanted to thank him, and we had a lot of pumpkins in our garden that year and everyone is tired of pumpkin pie, so we said let's try pumpkin bread. We fooled around with the recipe and got something," said Sheen. "We presented it to him and he liked it and the Sheenway Bakery was born."

Now the Sheenway student mobile bakery lovingly dubbed the "chow wagon" offers homemade baked goods, along with books to nourish young minds.

There is something for everyone - even for our four-legged friends.

"We have our delicious pumpkin bread right now. We have our peach cobbler. They are making dog biscuits because everybody wants to take care of their pets, too," said Sheen.

She hopes the mobile bakery will also serve as a meetup for underserved communities to come together and get to know each other.