2014: Our Volunteer Community Grew This year, we partnered with 2,200 volunteers at the farm, workshop, retail store and office, with a total of nearly 20,000 hours. According to national averages, the estimated service value of our volunteers for 2014 is $405,400! We can’t emphasize enough what an important role this community plays in our daily lives at HGP. We …
Cesar Chavez Day, March 28, 2015. We celebrated with a community work day in partnership with UCSC Alumni, attended by more than 100 people. After lunch, we heard from Ines Marines and Susan Samuels Drake about their experiences working with Cesar Chavez. Below is the text from their talk. Good afternoon everyone, My name is Ines Marines. I was born in …
Early on, the Women’s Organic Flower Enterprise filled a void in Homeless Garden Project’s training program during the winter months and held out the promise of earned income for the Project. In 2014, the Homeless Garden Project Store has done so much more than fill out the training program in the winter months. Today it’s at the center of a web of community …
In early spring, we have planned our crops for the year–how many beds, how the beds will be rotated, how many plants to a bed. We are sowing seeds in the greenhouse and planting seedlings from the greenhouse in the ground. It is only natural to begin to think about WHO we are growing this food for. A beautiful part …
When people ask me what is the best thing they can do to improve their diet, my answer is always the same: to cook at home more often. It isn’t to exclude sugar, wheat, gluten, or dairy, to eat more leafy greens… While all of those might be helpful, I think the best place to start is by getting to …
The City of Santa Cruz is an important partner in our work of providing Transitional jobs to people who are homeless. Here, several voices advocate to Santa Cruz City Council members on behalf of HGP and the people we serve. Dear City Council Members, I met my husband, Eugene, right before he became homeless. Because I believed in him, I …
As HGP gears up for a screening of A Place at the Table, we want to give you some background information on the Community Food Security movement and its origins. Andy Fisher created and publicized the concept of community food security and played a key role in building the community food movement. From 1994 to 2011, he led the Community Food …
Here is the story that Joan shared with Michael Pollan after he toured the farm. She was very brave to write it and speak it, and that courage was palpable when she shared. Later, Raphael, an accomplished SJSU film student, made a video chronicling the transition of trainees from farm to workshop with Joan’s story narrating. Watch the Video: Nourishing Soil “The …
We invited Congressman Sam Farr to visit HGP and see how our program has developed and impacts our community, as well as to share some remarks on transitional job efforts from the national and local perspectives. We wanted to begin a timely conversation–for programs that help people who are homeless increase their self-sufficiency and regain a productive place in our community Mayor Don Lane, …
On October 25, Michael Pollan visited the Homeless Garden Project. His visit inspired HGP trainees and staff to prepare a tour of our farm and programs that tells how our programs work, how the farm operates, and how it all comes together to help people find the tools they need to build a home in the world. Michael Pollan is an author, …
