Yukie, 63, Uses AI To Grow Her Business

After decades of cooking lumpia for friends and family, Yukie Pittman (63) has turned her passion for Filipino cuisine into a business. She’s using the computer and AI skills she learned at Senior Planet from AARP classes to grow the business.

How did you find out about Senior Planet?

When I left San Diego and moved in with my son in San Antonio, I was going through a lot. I reached out to a therapist who said, “Hey, you need to be around people of your age.” I did my research and found the Alicia Trevino Lopez Senior One-Stop Center. So, I started going there – meeting people, playing cards, and working out.

One day, I happened to walk by a computer class. I hadn’t done any computer classes since college, so I thought, “Why don’t I just pop in here and brush up on the classes that I had taken a hundred years ago.”

I was also looking for work at the same time. And I learned everything I needed to learn to apply for jobs in that class. And I got the job!

What is lumpia for any readers who may not be familiar?

Lumpia is a dish, it’s originated from the Philippines. It’s very similar to egg rolls. Inside, it has ground pork, then it has vegetables (carrots, beans sprouts, and I put spinach in it too), and garlic. And the difference between the lumpia wrapper and the egg roll wrapper is that the lumpia wrapper is much thinner. So, when you fry it, it’s crispy. It’s such a wonderful snack because you can just grab it and eat it.

So the new job is in addition to your new lumpia business?

Yes, in addition to my lumpia business. I made my lumpia into a business in December 2025. I had been making them for friends and family for years. Turning it into a business was never on my mind. My son was the one that said, “Mom, let’s make it fun and turn this into a business.”

Then, my Senior Planet instructor was talking to me about AI and how we can use it to market and be creative, right? That’s what really opened up my mind.

How are you using AI to help grow your business?

What we’ve done is made a logo, that actually came from a picture of me. And we made stickers and thank you cards. Now I’m working on making business cards with AI! The Senior Planet class put me on a whole other level. It inspired me to grow. I really believe that without it, I wouldn’t be where I’m at.

How does it feel for you to be your own boss?

Everything that I do is on my own time and I like that. I love the fact that I can control my business. I also like the idea that I can be creative and change my recipes around. If it makes the customer happy, it makes me happy. I never did it to make money. That was the whole thing. I did it because people enjoyed it, you know? So, whatever I make, I put it right back into the business

What does aging with attitude mean to you? 

To learn more about Yukie’s Lumpia’s click here!

To view upcoming Senior Planet programs, including classes on Artificial Intelligence and job skills, click here!

YOUR TURN:

If you were to sell one signature dish you make, what would it be? Let us know in the comments!

Pam Hugi is Senior Planet’s Community and Advocacy Manager. Based in Brooklyn, she is a contributing writer for this site.