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DESCRIPTION:Homeless Garden Project invites you to Farmfest 2014, this Sunday from 11am 
 to 4pm at the Homeless Garden Project Farm on Shaffer Road behind Natural 
 Bridges State Park. There will be live music, kids activities, a beer 
 garden, and cooking demonstrations.\n\nAbout this time every year, Homeless 
 Garden Project (HGP) holds their annual Farmfest celebration featuring the 
 down-home goodness associated with the 3.5 acre organic farm.\n\nThis year, 
 on Sunday May 18, from 11am - 4pm, is no exception, and will highlight the 
 tangible benefits of community involvement at HGP to encourage those taking 
 a radical new direction in their lives.\n\n“Many people who are homeless 
 and come to participate in our programs tell me that the community at the 
 farm makes a difference in their outlook on the world and in building 
 self-confidence and self esteem,” says Darrie Ganzhorn, HGP Executive 
 Director. “Farmfest is an invitation to the wider community to join 
 in.”\n\nThis free event will feature activities for children—games, 
 face painting, sensory walks on the farm—and live music from Black Eyed 
 Susies, Michael Martyn and Good Medicine, Michael Curry, and Mystic 
 Truebudoors. There will also be a ‘beer garden’ selling brews from 
 Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing Company, along with food and other 
 refreshments.\n\nBut the real draw is the cooking demos by local chef 
 volunteers. One of those chefs is Oai Phan, who will prepare an Asian 
 dumpling with kale. Mr. Phan moved to Santa Cruz from Vietnam with his 
 family about 30 years ago, and has since retired from working in real 
 estate. He started volunteering with HGP as a member of the Zen Center, 
 which makes soup and rice for the farm every Friday. He’s been coming 
 almost weekly for about five years ever since, and is extremely popular 
 with the staff and volunteers for his Vietnamese creations.\n\n“Food 
 always brings people closer and nothing makes me happier than to see a big 
 smile on peoples’ faces when they eat my ‘rabbit food,’” says Phan, 
 with a hearty laugh.\n\nIn addition to the job training and transitional 
 employment programs HGP offers, they also provide volunteer and educational 
 opportunities to more than 1500 people each year.\n\nFounded in 1990, HGP 
 is based on a 3.5-acre organic farm on the west side of Santa Cruz. The 
 nonprofit provides job training and transitional employment to people who 
 are homeless or experiencing a high risk of homelessness.\n\n \nEvery year 
 HGP sells produce grown on the farm through a Community Supported 
 Agriculture (CSA) program. Members pre-pay for their produce, and pick it 
 up on the farm each week for 23 weeks.\n\n \n“A beautiful part of the CSA 
 model is that we have a relationship through the entire harvest season with 
 people who will be eating the food we grow at Natural Bridges Farm,” says 
 Darrie. “Equally beautiful, are the relationships that our CSA members 
 create with the farmers at Homeless Garden Project and with the farm 
 itself.”\n\nAnother local volunteer chef Mike Reardon, a recent graduate 
 from Bauman College, will be showcasing his recipes at 
 Farmfest.\n\n“People should come to my cooking demonstration, because 
 I'll be cooking some of that bounty of the farm.” says Reardon, “We'll 
 be showing everyone how the great food at the farm can be turned into great 
 dishes in their homes.”\n\nMr. Phan says folks don't have to come to his 
 cooking demo, but if you do you might “learn how the East/West 
 influence” in his cooking, can “make vegetables more 
 enjoyable.”\n\nBut the most important dish HGP, and Farmfest, are serving 
 this year is a radical new way of life for those suffering from 
 homelessness.\n\n“HGP is special to me,” says Phan, “because I 
 believe together we can help change peoples’ lives.”\n\n For more 
 information about Farmfest 2014, go to 
 www.farmfest.homelessgardenproject.org. To find out more about HGP, visit 
 www.homelessgardenproject.org, or contact Kate Pearl at 426-3609 extension 
 10, or katep@homelessgardenproject.org.\n 
 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/05/12/18755678.php
SUMMARY:Homeless Garden Project Hosts Farmfest 2014
LOCATION:Homeless Garden Project Farm on Shaffer Road behind Natural Bridges State 
 Park, Santa Cruz
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/05/12/18755678.php
DTSTART:20140518T180000Z
DTEND:20140518T230000Z
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