A taco cart — well, bicycle — is the first winner of a competition among social enterprise start-ups.
"A social enterprise is any organization that applies a business principle to address a social issue. For us, it is employment for youth transitioning out of homelessness," said Youth Services Tulsa Social Enterprise Specialist Wesley Rose, who runs the T-Town Tacos program.
T-Town Tacos is a way for youth transitioning out of homelessness to learn culinary skills and earn a wage. They also work with employment specialists.
"The program is intended to teach some of those soft skills they need to maintain employment: reliability, communication, professionalism, grooming and attire," Rose said.
The $2,500 prize and three months of mentoring won in the Tulsa StartUp Series will help T-Town Tacos choose the next step in its evolution.
"We're really exploring three options to grow: expanding our lunch service, shifting to a food truck, and expanding on catering and delivery," Rose said.
Rose and representatives four other social enterprises gave five-minute pitches at a Wednesday night competition sponsored by the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation.
Later this year, T-Town Tacos will get a chance at a $15,000 prize and a year of mentoring through another Tulsa StartUp Series competition. This was the first year the competition offered a social enterprise category.
T-Town Tacos launched in April 2016 after receiving United Way grant funding in December 2015.
