Pictured here, a Christmas fairy, which is the creation of a young woman named Roisin, a ten-year-old artist living in Pescadero. Roisin's Christmas fairies were the hit of the holiday fair at Harley Farms Goat Dairy: she sold every last one of her unique creations. I'm the happy owner of one myself: it's on our Christmas tree with a blue lightbulb up its skirt.
I'm going to take a break from the Delicious Treats student memoirs to bring a bit of news about the Santa Cruz Homeless Garden Project. Being a coastal city with a mild climated, Santa Cruz has a fairly large homeless population. In 1990, the Citizens Committee for the Homeless here in Santa Cruz started a small quarter-acre garden on the west side of town, providing "job-training and meaningful work in a therapeutic environment." (That's from their website.) It's a fine, fine organization which has changed the lives of many people—both homeless people who received the benefit of the education and work, as well as the myriad volunteers, staff, and now the families who are the recipients of the weekly CSA baskets.
I was reading the Santa Cruz Sentinel (affectionately or irritatedly called "The Senile" in these parts) last week and read with a sinking heart that the Homeless Garden Project has twice been the victim of arson. The fires, lit exactly one month apart, destroyed a storage shed containing all their hand tools and most of their seed, and on Sunday night, their kitchen.
Every Tuesday through Friday, the kitchen provided two hot meals for anyone who volunteered or worked that day: imagine its destruction. I am horrified, especially because the implication is that the fires were deliberate, targeted, and filled with malice. At Christmas time.
To make a long story short, I donated five boxes (250) of my farmers market calendars to their store in Depot Park, over near the Boardwalk. If you are in the area and want to make a difference, and get a beautiful calendar (or beeswax candles, preserves, knitted goods, or dozens of other items—very high quality stuff), please visit the Homeless Garden Project store as soon as you can. They're organic, and they're committed to providing the best service and products possible to our community.
Thanks for caring. (And for the record, I won't receive any tax benefit from the donation, as I'm self-employed. I had too many calendars as it was.)
That's all for now: I'll return tomorrow with another memoir from "The Meaning of Food" writing class.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: "Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be." — Clementine Paddleford
Thanks for visiting. And thanks for visiting the Homeless Garden Project's store, located near Depot Park. I'd call them for directions, as it's easier than trying to find it on a map: 831.426.3609.
Comments