New School Alumni bring lunch with a side of social justice on Tuesdays

Get to know an organization that stems from our very own New School roots: Drive Change was a 2014 New Challenge winner and has grown to become one of NYC's most innovative young organizations.Drive Change utilizes the food truck workplace to run a 1-year paid Fellowship for young adults coming home from jail and prison. The organization was founded by a teacher who worked at the high school on Rikers Island. New York is one of two states that incarcerates 16-year-olds as adults, automatically. The roads ahead for these young new york are often paved with red-lights, stop-signs, and dead-ends: employment and educational opportunities are heavily restricted and too many brilliant young people wind up re-intercepted by the system. Drive Change uses the food truck workplace to continue education and give young people hands-on workplace experience, turning red lights green.The food truck that Drive Change runs is called Snowday. It is the only locally sourced food truck in New York City. The truck is also the reigning 2015 Vendy Cup Winner for Best Food Truck in NYC. Ingredients come from urban and upstate NY farms and are prepared from scratch in the prep kitchen in Bedstuy, Brooklyn. Fellows grow by learning how to operate a vibrant small food business and develop industry skills while Drive Change managers curate an experience that fosters social/emotional growth. However, Drive Change holds a restricted area permit and struggles to sustain consistent parking options; as a result, when the truck is not active, Fellows cannot practice and learn.The New School is Drive Change's new parking partner and the truck will be parked on 13th Street between University Place and 5th Avenue on Tuesdays. All sales from the truck recycle back into the organization to subsidize program costs. Lunch is served with a side of social justice on Tuesdays. The organization would also like to come speak to students and professors about the work and encourages your to bring your classes for lunch when feasible, or to create ordering contracts to have delivered to your classrooms on Tuesdays between 11:30 and 3pm.For more information please email the Engagement Specialist at Drive Change: roy@drivechangenyc.org to learn more.