DENVER — A new weekly event called the Colorado Boulevard Food Truck Hub will officially launch in Denver’s Northeast Park Hill neighborhood on Thursday.
The event will have two main focuses: feeding residents in Northeast Park Hill (a historic food desert) and fighting youth gun violence.
Every week the Food Truck Hub organizers, Mile High Festivals, will work with other community partners to provide meal vouchers to low-income families.
“We want to address the immediate needs that we have in this community with a lack of food choices. We are also generating proceeds from the efforts that we’re doing here to support our Mending Roots Forest Program, which is an effort to combat youth gun violence,” said Norman Harris, president of Mile High Festivals.
Harris said 10% of sales each week will go towards the Mending Roots Forest Project.
“These issues that we have with gun violence are ticking up, not down,” Harris said. “Whatever part we can play in bringing awareness along with actionable change, we’re willing to do.”
Harris is also a co-founder of the Holleran Group, the development firm that owns Park Hill Golf Course.
Harris said this weekly event is a glimpse of what could take place if the community reimagines Park Hill Golf Course.
“We like to think some of the concepts we bring in event-planning are based in equity — so providing opportunity for those who may not be able to get opportunities. So we have this beautiful parking lot sitting on the corner of 35th and Colorado and we think there could be so much better of use of it,” Harris said.
Charles Cox, owner of Charlie's Smoked Meats, a food truck and catering business is participating in the festival and said it’s a great opportunity for business owners of color.
“It’s a great way to support our community and goals we are trying to achieve,” Cox said. “Once we do get together and we're out here, we like to taste each other's food and see what’s going on, support each other.”
The event will happen every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Park Hill Golf Course until it gets cold.
