Colorado Springs neighborhood market, Hillside hub, a first of its’ kind in the city

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Hillside Hub, Colorado Springs, the first neighborhood food center in the city is hosting its grand opening Saturday, June 11.

on Saturday, June 11 from 3 p.m to 7 p.m.

Food to Power, formerly known as the Colorado Springs Food Rescue, is creating the new center. Dubbed the Hillside Hub, it will be a space for urban farming, compost production, micro-enterprise development, educational workshops, & fresh grocery distribution.

Inspired by working through her own challenges, Executive Director Patience Kabwasa and her team at Food to Power are providing health resources to hundreds of people in Colorado Springs.

“I was divorced and I had three small children under eight and I was making about 4-thousand dollars a year so I had to figure out how to feed my family," Patience Kabwasa.

She says her organization is dedicated to reducing food waste while increasing food access to communities that need it most.

In 2018, her group worked with El Paso County Public Health. During that partnership, they identified four main Colorado Springs neighborhoods lacking access to healthy fresh food.

• Hillside
• Pikes Peak Park
• Meadows Park
• Knob Hill

"To be able to share my knowledge and just what I have learned on this journey bringing lived experiences and understanding to what health equity looks like practically and what it looks like at the intersection of food insecurity and being able to share that with the community I love that nurtured me, it is hard to put into words," Kabwasa.

Home farming and compost classes are available for those who want to grow their own food.

This year, the group plans to focus on planting tomatoes, onions, and lettuce. A farmer, Shane Nelson, says her produce will come by next year.

“This season we are more focused on building the farm than we are putting out all the food so in the future years we will be really revamping up food production," said Nelson.

Anyone in need can shop at the no-cost grocery store.

"We don’t need any id, any birth certificate, we don’t any proof of citizenship, not even your first or last name, you can give us a nickname, a fake name, you can be bob smith for the day—as long as you need the food we will give it," Natalia Avila, food access manager with Hillside Hub.

This 3.5-acre site was a gift from the Lane Foundation a site of $2.8 million made possible through community donations.

The grand opening is Saturday, June 11 from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. at 1090 S. Institute St.

The market will be open seven days a week.