This impressive program offers a model of self-reliance, but strangely enough, it didn't start that way. The founders' initial impulse was more charitable than empowering, but luckily, they were sensitive enough to listen to the suggestions of their participants and quickly shifted course from simple charity into the more challenging realms of self-reliance. It began in 1990 when Paul Lee, a professor of philosophy and herbalist, and Lynne Basehore, a local environmentalist, both advocates involved with the Santa Cruz Citizen's Committee for the Homeless, came up with the idea of creating a garden as a safe place and a beautiful place where the community's growing homeless population could spend their days cultivating the garden, enjoying its quiet beauty while growing themselves a little healthful food. But it didn't take the homeless people long to see beyond that, Darrie Ganzhorn said. They didn't see it as food but as a way to economic self-reliance.
Any unsold produce is eaten by the workers and donated to local emergency-food providers.
Funding from the city and county has been minimal, and as is all too typical, it has proven more difficult to find continuing funding than it was to lure startup grants from organizations like the Roberts Foundation and the Packard Foundation as a new program. Send him E-mail .