One of my son-in-laws never went to college, just average grades in high school. He did however hold various jobs in restaurants and learned to cook while earning money. All without college. But... he pulls in over $5000 after expenses selling lemonade at weekend events, can make enough money in a few weeks to last the year. He has vendor trailers and permits. Yes, makes more money with lemonade than cooking (but it's awesome lemonade). Outside that, he does carpentry and sheetrock, no college required, no loans to worry about.
Now that’s a success story! And the best part - he probably get paid in cash for the most part.
So your son has a food cart or trailer? That’s very cool. The best coffee I ever had was from a Vietnamese guy who had his own little truck right outside NYU.
Good luck to your son!