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Food truck, community partners create opportunity for workers to build job skills

Miller's Crew is a Fayetteville-based food truck that employs young adults with developmental disabilities to help them build life and job skills to better equip them for independent living.

Posted Updated

By
Dryden Quigley
, WRAL contributor

Food trucks are a common sight these days, but Miller's Crew is not like the rest. Miller's Crew employs young adults with developmental disabilities to help them build life and job skills to better equip them for independent living. The Fayetteville-based food truck serves “comfort food with a mission.” Customers can get a great lunch while supporting the development of young adults with cognitive disabilities.

The idea for Miller’s Crew emerged in 2003, after Kim Molnar’s son Miller was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. She said she faced questions about his future. What would he do during the day? Would he be employed? Where could he work?

This food truck helps to provide some answers.

“The goal is to pipeline our high school students that train in our labs to the truck, give them the opportunity to train more, connect with their community, gain more skills, so that they could end up in a brick-and-mortar community business like Jersey Mike's,” said Molnar, who is CEO of Miller’s Crew.

The food truck does not stand alone. When a new Jersey Mike’s had a grand opening on Aug. 25, Miller’s Crew was there to celebrate. Jersey Mike’s has committed to fostering the development of the food truck and aims to hire some of those who are on the team.

“You know, 90% of it is will not skill,” said Daniel Terracciano, Jersey Mike’s regional manager. “And what I mean by that is, I'll take an employee who wants to work and wants to be here and be a part of the team any day, and then we can work on that other 10%. We can work on the skill. We can work to develop them as far as what they need within this restaurant.”

During the grand opening, one of the Miller’s Crew employees expressed his enthusiasm for the idea of working at the restaurant one day.

“It was the actions that were louder than words today, like his excitement and understanding that this could be a place where I can work based on the skills that I'm picking up in the mobile training lab. I mean that right there was proof it's definitely working,” said Molnar.

Miller’s Crew also collaborates with local community events like a football tailgate at Gray’s Creek High School, serving sandwiches, smoothies and soft drinks.

“It’s a great way to support not only Miller’s Crew, but it’s a way to get the kids out there and help them get jobs,” said Gray’s Creek High School Principal Lisa Stewart.

As a former speech pathologist Molnar is ready to help train young adults alongside her son, with the help of her community.

“There's a lot of people out there that are doing what I'm doing. I just think that for our community, what we're doing is special because we've so quickly been able to partner with people who get what we're trying to do. And that's when it becomes more than just training.”

The website for the crew launched Aug. 1 and a handful of applications have already been submitted.

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