Most of Denver’s food trucks serve cupcakes, tacos or sandwiches, and most of them are actually trucks.

Hunger Free Colorado took a different road.

The Denver nonprofit launched its own “food truck” — a 40-foot-long neon green RV converted to a mobile office — last week in an effort to connect struggling Coloradans with information and services.

“We’re using this to get out into the community to reach people who don’t know there are services to help them,” said Hunger Free Colorado spokeswoman Michelle Ray

.

The truck was on hand at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City on Friday in conjunction with Food Bank of the Rockies.

The food bank’s mobile food pantry makes biweekly stops in the lot, serving 200 to 300 people each time.

“They only get a small box,” mobile outreach coordinator Douglas Vega

said. “The food banks meet the immediate need, but that food will run out.”

Vega plans to bring the truck into the community at least four times a week to encourage those who qualify to sign up for the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.

The process can take months, Vega said, but the new mobile office cuts that time down to a single day.

“Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, we’re just trying to fill the gap,” Vega said.

In 2011, about 165,000 Coloradans received food-stamp benefits, up from about 95,000 in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. But only 51 percent of eligible Coloradans participate in the program, said food-resource navigator Sharon Duran.

The food truck’s staff said most people they help are employed full time, but that rent and other expenses leave little room for food expenses.

While the truck’s route is currently limited to Denver, Vega plans to help struggling individuals across Colorado. “If there’s a need, we want to be there,” he said.

The truck’s full schedule can be found at Hunger Free Colorado’s website.

Nic Turiciano: 303-954-1223, nturiciano@denverpost.com or follow @Nic_Turishawno