With its many multimillion dollar mansions and luxury ski condos, Park City's image screams of affluence. An abundance of wealth, however, does not erase the hidden low income and homeless residents who live here. Though many of us may not realize it, roughly 25 percent of Park City residents are considered low income, including 1,200 children who are eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch programming. The staff at the Christian Center of Park City works year-round to alleviate the needs of our city's low income residents and this week you can do a good deed by joining them for the annual "Hike For Hunger" at Deer Valley. The fun, non-competitive event takes place on Saturday, September 9 from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. Complete with hiking, mountain biking, live music, face painting, a bouncy house, food, and drinks, the "Hike For Hunger" is really a small festival and perfect outing for the whole family.

Addressing food insecurity in Park City is no small endeavor. The CCPC food pantry is able to feed 800 to 1,000 households by collecting and redistributing 240,000 pounds (that's 120 tons!) of food each year. Meeting the needs of these many families and individuals wouldn't be possible at all without community support. “We started the Hike For Hunger, in order to raise awareness about a hidden, yet very real issue right here in Park City: hunger." says Executive Director of the CCPC, Rob Harter, "Since our inaugural year six years ago, we have been thrilled to see this event grow in size and scope each year.”

This year's event kicks off at 1:30 p.m. and, after check-in, you'll have the chance to hop on the Silver Lake Express to try out three different hikes or two mountain biking routes. Options for hikers include the easy, 1-mile Nabob Loop; the moderate Sultan Out & Back (2.5 miles); and the Silver Lake Loop (4.5 miles). Mountain bikers can take on either the 4-mile Deer Crest to Pipeline and Village ride or the longer, 7-mile Deer Crest to Mid-Mountain loop. Once your done hiking or riding, come back to Snow Park Lodge via the chairlift to enjoy live music from the Synderville Electric Band and the PATWA Reggae Band. After all the hiking and biking, you can also refuel with delicious food donated by Nicholas & Company and prepared by Deer Valley. A special kid's festival area with bounce houses for plus face painting will keep the youngsters occupied and adults can mingle over wine and beer from Park City Brewery. 

Registration for the event includes access to the chairlift to get to the hiking or biking routes, all the food, drinks, and fun activities, plus a T-shirt, and hat from Kombre (donations $50 and up). There are a variety of donation options for registration, including a family/group option (up to 5 people) for $60, single adults tickets for $30, and additional hikers (under 21) for $10. Larger VIP donations levels are also accepted ($500-$5000+) and include hiking tickets, VIP parking, schwag, and all day lift passes. 

Hope to see everyone out there, should be an amazing day!