When you purchase a candle, bar of soap, or any handcrafted item from the Homeless Garden Project Store, you’re not just buying a product—you’re supporting a story of resilience, transformation, and hope. Behind each handmade gift is a person who has poured their time, effort, and heart into its creation. One of those individuals is Carrie Young. A Fresh Start …
Why Shopping with a Purpose Matters: How Your Purchase Changes Lives
The Power of Shopping with a Purpose In a world where gift-giving can sometimes feel routine, choosing a gift that gives back brings a deeper meaning. At the Homeless Garden Project, every item sold supports our mission to empower individuals experiencing homelessness through job training, skill-building, and transitional employment. Our products are crafted with care, but even more importantly, they …
Cultivating the Beloved Community
My name is Alison Alkon and I’m a professor in the community studies program at UCSC. I do research and write and teach about food justice, meaning the ways that inequalities like race, class and gender affect who gets access to healthy food, so clearly an organization like the Homeless Garden Project, that helps folks who are struggling to both …
Growing Together: Volunteer Spotlights
Volunteers are the heart of everything we do at the Homeless Garden Project. Everyone who joins us has their own story, their own reason for showing up. In this series, we’re handing them the mic to share why they volunteer, what they’ve learned, and what this community means to them. Take a read, get inspired, and maybe even join us! …