Between first and second period, dozens of Berkeley High School students line the halls of the H-building, the G- and H-building breezeway, and the campus green to get some extra fuel for the start of their day. Operating Monday through Friday, three Good Morning Cafe coffee carts across campus are filled with granola bars, gatorade, and their famous warmed-up muffins in many flavors, which provide all students access to snacks while the cafeteria is closed. These carts are run by the BHS Homebase Special Education program, and for the students behind the carts, the cafe is much more than just a place to grab a quick snack.
The cafe and coffee carts are run on a rotating schedule of student-lead jobs, doing everything from heating up the muffins, popcorn, and arranging the carts, to cleaning up the Homebase classroom, to operating the carts during passing period. These jobs are rotated between students on a monthly basis, making sure that all students get many different forms of work experience.
“We are trying to use the jobs here to teach them skills that could apply to potential future jobs,” said Josh Austin, a Homebase Special Education teacher. “There are universal skills like following directions, staying on task, reading instructions and just being thorough," Austin said.
One of the students that helps run the cart is April Wright, a senior at BHS who has been working at the cafe cart for the past four years. She leans more towards the interactive jobs offered at the cafe. “I like selling to the customers and counting the money,” Wright said, “More schools should have cafes like this — definitely.”
Aaliyah Johnson, a BHS junior who has worked at the cafe for three years, has learned many skills through the program, her favorite of which being “how to handle money math,” which she has been able to use outside of the school setting. With the money that the Good Morning Cafe and coffee carts earn, the Homebase program goes on field trips throughout the Bay Area, including the movie theater and bowling alleys.
Anya Wagner, a BHS junior, said she frequents the cafe because of its affordable price and quick service. “I like how cheap it is. It's really quick and it's just a good fuel for your second period and beyond, and it's really convenient,” she said, “It's really cool that we have that in our school, and that we have a place where you can grab something if you need.”
For James Graves, a Homebase senior, one of the best parts of the program is being able to serve muffins to all students and learn new skills like selling items and cleaning. “I like helping other people,” Graves said. He is proud of the fact that the cafe helps students from all around BHS.
Jeongui Yoo, a senior in the Homebase program, enjoys working with his friends and teachers at the coffee cart. In addition, Yoo wishes that more students were aware of all of the available products to purchase. “I would like (students to) know about the list on the cart (of products that the cafe sells),” Yoo said.
Wagner’s go-to cafe order is a chocolate chip chocolate muffin and a gatorade. She also hopes that more locations of the Good Morning cafe will open up around BHS, so that more students will be able to enjoy a mid-morning snack.
Over his 16 years of working at BHS, Austin has seen the rigorous work that the Homebase students and staff have put in every day into making sure that the cafe runs as smoothly as possible. “I'm proud of it (the Good Morning Cafe),” Austin says, “It's a good program that we do, and I think that a lot of students are hungry and they do want to buy it (food) from us.” Whether you are hungry, in a rush in the morning, or just need a quick pick-me-up, the Good Morning Cafe’s quick service, variety of tasty drinks and treats, and convenience, are the perfect choice for a mid-morning snack.