A new food truck festival is pulling up in Chicago’s West Pullman neighborhood, aiming to foster community engagement and economic growth in an area organizers say is often overlooked.
Hosted by the Far South Community Development Corp., the festival on Saturday will have eight food trucks, including Whadda Jerk, Harold’s Chicken 55 and Tacos 606 in the parking lot of Maple Marketplace across from the Morgan Commons Development.
“Hosting this in the Far South Side is very important because sometimes it can be forgotten,” said Cam Brown, director of the Neighborhood Business Development Center at Far South CDC. “Sometimes people think it’s not as alluring or as enticing as some other neighborhoods, but we’re just as strong and just as resourceful.”
Far South CDC is spearheading a redevelopment of the Maple Park Marketplace shopping plaza at Halsted and 115th streets, including the former Aldi and Walgreens sites, with plans to bring in a new dine-in restaurant, health center and grocery store on 100th and Austin. Maple Park Marketplace is across the street from Far South CDC’s 12-acre Morgan Park Commons mixed-use housing development.
Brown said both sites are part of the nonprofit’s initiative to repurpose nearly 1 million square feet of blighted community areas into spaces that will ignite economic growth. In the long run, they hope to repopulate communities on Chicago’s Far South Side that have experienced decades of chronic disinvestment.
Organizers are hoping the food festival puts the organization’s work on the map, while serving as an example of what they’re hoping to achieve.
“As they say, it takes a village,” said Brown. “So when people see resources like this, when they understand that organizations like ours exist, it changes their perspective and they want to hold themselves accountable and make the place better themselves — it’s a buy-in.”
Rainbow Cone will also swing by, and live music will be provided by J.ARTiz and Mo’ Soul.
Brown said it was vital to keep the food truck festival completely free. Far South CDC will foot most of the bill, with help from some partner organizations. Guests should register to receive their free tickets, which include all food truck options.
Denita Tittle, owner of Ms Tittle’s Cupcakes, said the costs of operating a small business cannot be overstated.
“Everything is expensive,” Tittle said. “I went to the store to buy cocoa powder, what used to be a $17 4-ounce bag a year and a half ago is now $44, and that’s wholesale!”
She’s grateful Far South CDC is making desserts like hers more accessible to the whole community. Tittle is offering her 10 best flavors, including salted caramel, banana pudding, lemon, pineapple coconut, vegan turtle and more. Her team will be making 60 of each flavor.
For Thomas Brewer, owner of popular food truck Whadda Jerk, neighborhood events such as the food festival make him nostalgic for late-summer block parties. The fact that it’s free is all the more reason to attend, he said.
“As kids, you didn’t have money. You might’ve gone with your brother or sister, and no one had money,” Brewer said with a laugh. “(At the event) no one has to stress out about saving money or spending too much money, or just not having enough money for some of the activities or even to eat.”
Brewer plans to serve deep-fried jerk wings, jerk nachos and jerk bowls. The serving size is standard, he said, noting that it was important not to decrease the quality or quantity of Whadda Jerk’s offerings.
“It’s all worth it, it feels so great to see how much fun the kids have,” he added.
Community development is more than just about real estate, said Brown, who’s been behind many efforts throughout the year promoting local, economic growth.
“The food festival is actually showing that, ‘hey, you can get everything in your neighborhood,’” Brown said. “You can stay local and spend those dollars locally and draw people in from other parts of the city to spend here too.”
The all-ages event will be held from 1-5 p.m. Saturday at 821 W. 115th St. Food is included with free registration at farsouthcdc.org/festivals
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