Hunger Fighter of the Year
COMMUNITY NEWS
Darrie Ganzhorn To Be Honored By Second Harvest March 4
D
By Jondi Gumz
arrie Ganzhorn will be honored as Hunger Fighter of the Year by Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County at a virtual awards celebration 4:30-5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 4.. Holiday Food & Fund Drive Co-Chairs Megan Martinelli and Carlos Palacios, along with fellow Santa Cruz County Hunger Heroes and Hunger Fighters will recognize the accomplishments of so many in 2021 – the second year of a global pandemic. More than 225 people plan to attend. RSVP at https://give.thefoodbank. org/campaigns/17468-annual-awardscelebration-celebrating-you Ganzhorn has been executive director of the Homeless Garden Project for more than 25 years, planting seeds and transforming lives. The nonprofit provides a way out of being homeless, giving people experience growing produce and flowers on a
the farm produced 3-acre organic farm on 20,000 pounds of Westside Santa Cruz organic produce. with a seasonal farm Trainees logged 14,000 stand, and creating paid hours. The volsalves, soaps, herbal unteer program was seasonings, teas, baking scaled back for safety, mixes and jellies sold yet 501 people cononline and at a store in tributed 3,421 hours downtown Santa Cruz. to support various Each year, about 17 projects. The Comtrainees are selected to munity Supported participate in the oneAgriculture program year program, where was fully subscribed they are paid as they with 66 people signed learn. On the Home Darrie Ganzhorn up to get a weekly box Garden Project website, Patricia, Cody and Chris share their stories of organic produce (and a wait list). The Feeding 2 Birds campaign made of lives transformed. Over the past six years, 97% of trainees 30 shares to nonprofits such as Hospice, got jobs or a stable income -- and 90% got Boys and Girls Club and Gemma, providing their clients with organic produce, housing. In 2020, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, herbs and flowers.
A new partnership with Coke Farm, an organic grower in San Juan Batista, created “Growing the Table” to address summer food insecurity due to Covid, packing and delivering 2,400 food boxes through 20 local organizations. Among the recipients families at Gault Elementary in Santa Cruz. In the summer, the Homeless Garden Project created “Lean on Me,” a community event for vendors to build connections. A virtual fundraiser featured wellknown chef and restaurateur David Kinch, giving attendees a kit of farm ingredients to make a recipe with Kinch. Ganzhorn promoted the “21 Day Challenge,” a three-week commitment with daily lessons to understand connections between race, justice and food systems. The plan is to repeat this in 2022. “Hunger Fighter” page 18
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GOLF TOURNAMENT
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www.tpgonlinedaily.com Aptos Times / February 15th 2022 / 17
