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This lesson introduces students to entrepreneurship, a specific type of human resource. Teams of students create food cart businesses, give them creative names, develop advertisements, and complete basic business plans. Students, working as entrepreneurs, must develop a niche market, promote their product, and make good business decisions. Concepts: entrepreneur, venture, wants, resources, business plan competition, opportunity cost Integrate: science, communication arts, art
Have students share their ideas with their neighbors. Construct a whole-group list on the board as students volunteer to share their ideas. The list could include sports events, restaurants, grocery stores, entertainment events, malls, etc. 1) Tell students that entrepreneurs are individuals who recognize opportunities (wants, problems) and use resources to implement innovative ideas for new ventures. 2) Explain to students that today we are going to look at one way food is sometimes sold food carts. Ask students to share their experiences with food carts. Some examples might include hot dogs, pretzels, or ice cream.
Food carts are small carts, usually metal, that can be rolled from one location to another. You would probably transport it on a trailer for long distances. A food cart is not a metal building that holds several workers and workstations. The food cart contains the cooking materials and supplies in the metal base. One end may have a grill, while the other has a cooler. Food carts often have umbrellas or canopies to protect the worker from the sun. Read the following description to the students (taken from Lukins, 1994, All Around the World Cookbook, p. 443): Street Food in the Tropics
Out looking for culinary thrills along bustling streets in Jamaica, was taken by the brightly painted ramshackle carts selling snacks. Red, yellow, and turquoise carts and panel trucks painted with primitive birds and playing an energetic jumble of calypso and reggae music turned strolling into dancing. Some carts were piled high with sugar cane, the tough outsides hacked off by a man sitting on a small stool, machete at his side. The soft pulp was ready for hours of sweet sucking and chewing. Bright yellow coconuts were set nearby, adorned with colorful straws, offering their sweet fresh liquid as a hirst-quencher in these hot climes.
From other stands wafted the pungent island aromas of jerk chicken and pork, and spicy shrimp waiting to be nibbled. Irresistible food, irresistible music in a climate made for living outdoors why go inside, ever? 3) Explain that In other cultures it is common to see a variety of street vendors. In Mexico you can buy taquitos (small tacos), corn-on-the-cob with cream and cheese, pieces of fresh fruit, rice drinks, and even churros (fried donut sticks) from street vendors. 4) Introduce today’s challenge: In total group, brainstorm possible food art ideas using the Brainstorming Rules Transparency. A few ideas, if needed, include breakfast cart, stir fry cart, spuds cart, health food cart, snack cart, or taco cart. ) This list should be very lengthy. 5) Assign each group to use the Making a Business Decision Handout to select a food cart business to introduce to the marketplace. They may want to use the Scamper technique to modify or develop their ideas. SCAMPER is a creative problem-solving technique developed by 80b Eberle. It stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify (Minify or Magnify), Put to Other Uses, Eliminate, or Reverse. Carver found marketable uses for peanuts (put to other uses).
Sugar-free and fat-free foods eliminate things consumers try to avoid (eliminate). upside-down cake reverses the typical order (reverse). 6) Have each group determine the perfect location for your food cart. This may change with the seasons. 7) Assign each group to complete a business plan using the guidelines on the Business Plan Handout. (Groups may decide to work through each segment of the assignment together or to practice division of labor by having two students specialize by working on the advertisement as two others omplete the business plan. 8) Have each group draw a diagram of their food cart showing the equipment needed for production and the supply storage space. 9) Assign each group to think of a creative business name to represent the goods and services provided and then to design an advertisement. The advertisement should include all of the information consumers will want. Use the Checklist of Tasks Transparency to keep students on-task. 10) Allow enough time for students to complete their task before each group shares their proposed business venture with the whole class. ) Optional: As groups introduce their proposed business ventures have the other students listen carefully in order to help evaluate their work (using the PMI Chart – positive, minus, interesting). 12) Display each group’s labeled drawing advertisement, and business plan for others to view. Assessment: In cooperative learning groups, students deal with the concepts Of scarcity and opportunity cost as they design their food cart business. They analyze their community in order to select the goods to sell to consumers. Next, they give their business a creative name, develop an advertisement, and omplete a business plan.
Each team gives an oral presentation introducing their new business to the entire group. (Each team will identify the scarcity issues facing their business, as well as the opportunity cost they experienced in the decision of what to sell. ) CONNECT: (Dessert) Restaurateur Questions: 1) Have you ever started your own restaurant? 2) Where do you borrow money when you need to expand or buy new equipment? 3) Have you created a business plan? 4) Have you ever made a decision that you later regretted? Government/Science:Have students think about the responsibilities roducers have to consumers.
For an example, explain that health regulations vary or are non-existent in some countries. The food sold by street vendors in Mexico tends to make Americans ill. These carts are not regulated and therefore may not be clean or may use contaminated water giving us bacteria to which we are not accustomed. Geography: Have students think of their favorite vacation spot. Design a food cart business which would be successful near that tourist attraction, region, or setting. Think of famous landmarks Of our country and design the food cart to tie in to that appeal.