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From left, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop; Tony Boloney's owner Michael Hauke and former Gov. Jim McGreevey at Tony Boloney's Hoboken location (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Specialty food trucks have experienced a resurgence in New Jersey the past three years.

A food truck venture announced today by former Gov. Jim McGreevey and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop will be different, and revolutionary.

It will be staffed by ex-inmates.

"Re-entry clients'' of the Jersey City Employment & Training Program, of which McGreevey is executive director, will work on the Second Helping food truck, to be owned and operated by Tony Boloney's, a pizzeria based in Atlantic City and Hoboken.

The truck will make its debut in April, and will initially be stationed in North Jersey, working Hoboken's Pier 13, plus corporate locations, private events and fairs/festivals elsewhere.

"Our people will be on this truck,'' McGreevey said. "Ex-offenders who want to change the course of their lives.''

The venture had an unlikely boost from Gov. Chris Christie. Fulop and McGreevey hatched the idea, but didn't have a business partner initially. In a meeting with Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian about the possibility of starting a JCETP-type program down there, Guardian told McGreevey that Christie loved Tony Boloney's.

McGreevey later met with Michael Hauke, owner of Tony Boloney's, and the pizzeria joined the venture. Tony Boloney's will own the truck, and all assets; the truck, equipment and training will cost about $55,000.

Philanthropist Francine LeFrak, whom Fulop said is "passionate about poverty and re-entry,'' is contributing to the truck's funding.

The interior of Tony Boloney's, Hoboken (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The Second Helping truck will have a soft opening at a conference at St. Peter's University, Jersey City, in April, then formally open soon after.

The menu, according to Hauke, will offer five subs, three or more kinds of pizza, plus salads and sides.

"Food trucks are tremendously popular,'' said Fulop, mayor of a city where food trucks have gained a foothold. "The sense of ownership for re-entry individuals will provide them with a sense of responsibility and additional confidence. This is very unique and has all the ingredients of success.''

About 2,000 men and women return to Jersey City every year after serving prison terms, according to Fulop, and programs such as Second Helping can only help in transitioning them back into society.

"What Tony Baloney's is doing is exceptional, to take our people on,'' McGreevey said.

Hiring exclusively from within the re-entry population is not without precedent in the food industry. Felony Franks in Chicago and Greyston Bakery in Yonkers do it. But this is the first program of its kind in New Jersey, according to the participants.

The food truck's design and color are being worked on, but a "mission statement'' on the truck will make it clear what Second Helping is all about.

Pizza box, Tony Boloney's (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Tony Boloney's, which opened in Atlantic City in 2009, is known for pizza and cheesesteaks; the pizzeria won Guy Fieri's Cheesesteak Battle in Atlantic City in 2010. The Hoboken location opened in March of this year.

To find out more about specialty food trucks, here is the ultimate guide to New Jersey food trucks.

Ex-inmates expecting easy street working on the Second Helping truck will be in for an awakening; Hauke runs what he calls a "military-type operation,'' with clearly-defined roles and responsibilities for employees.

Jose Borjas knows first-hand about that. The Jersey City resident served three years in state prison on burglary and theft charges, and after his release was hired at Tony Boloney's.

Borjas now manages the pizzeria's two stands in the Prudential Center in Newark.

"He (Hauke) gave me a chance; I moved up,'' Borjas said. "I know it will work because it worked for me. I've worked in other (businesses). After they run my criminal history after (the hiring tryout period), they let me go.''

"It's almost as if people have a scarlet letter 'F' for 'felon' on them,'' McGreevey said.

"I take pride in my job,'' Borjas added. "I get up in the morning, I'm ready to go. Other jobs, I didn't care.''

Re-entry clients will work 9-15 months on the truck, using the experience to add to their resumes and find jobs in hotels, restaurants and elsewhere.

"What's incredibly powerful about this is that it's a ladder,'' McGreevey explained. "This (program) is a really good thing. To me this is the greatest Christmas present.''

Peter Genovese may be reached at pgenovese@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PeteGenovese or via The Munchmobile @NJ_Munchmobile. Find the Munchmobile on Facebook and on Instagram.