Wok This Way food truck benefits from NFL Business Connect Program ahead of Final Four
Mar 15, 2024, 4:15 AM | Updated: 1:07 pm
Kris Mill, left, co-owns the Wok This Way food truck with her nephew, Jake, who has Down Syndrome. (Wok this Way photos/via Instagram)
(Wok this Way photos/via Instagram)
PHOENIX — Wok This Way, a local food truck that sells vegan and vegetarian foods, is benefiting from an NFL program that lifts up small businesses in the Valley.
Kris Mill co-owns the food truck with her nephew, Jake, who has Down Syndrome. The two developed the business to empower people with special needs through employment.
“We are Arizona’s first green food truck,” Mill told KTAR News 92.3 FM. “We have been operating for the past seven years. We’re a zero-waste, repurposed food truck from the United States Postal Service. We’re 100% sustainable.”
Jake said his favorite part about working on the food truck is making delicious dishes.
“I love making Pad Thai and fried rice,” he said.
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He won first place in a cooking contest when he was in fifth grade. Now, he serves his award-winning fried rice recipe to customers. It shows up on the menu as the Lucky Fortune Veggie Fried Rice.
How the Business Connect Program helps Wok This Way
The NFL’s Business Connect program helps Valley businesses connect with valuable resources. The program kicked off last year with the Super Bowl in Glendale. Businesses in the program participated in dozens of events in the weeks and months leading up to the football match.
The Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee selected 220 local diverse businesses out of hundreds of applications. They wanted to empower businesses owned by women, minorities, veterans and LGBTQ+ people.
Mill said joining the Business Connect Program was great for Wok This Way’s business.
“Last year, we were part of the Super Bowl NFL Experience and this time we’re going to be part of the NCAA March Madness Music Festival,” she said. The free three-day event in early April will take place at the Margaret T. Hance Park near Central Avenue and Culver Street.
The Business Connect program has been incredibly helpful, Mill added.
“They’ll continue to provide support to the local community and embracing the culture of Arizona and everything that we have here,” she said.
Wok This Way will serve food at the World Down Syndrome Day celebration this Saturday at Pioneer Community Park in Peoria. The park is near 83rd and Olive avenues.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Balin Overstolz-McNair contributed to this report.
