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Community Corner

Homeless Project Gets Boost Over Holidays

Sales triple for the Homeless Garden Project's downtown store, which was open the month before Christmas.

If the Homeless Garden Project Holiday Store’s sales for the month are any indication, the economy has made a definite comeback in Santa Cruz.

Sales for 2011 tripled those from the year before at the downtown store, according to HGP’s Tamara Cucchiara-Sitka. That’s a stunning success for the nonprofit, which opened in 1991 as the first organic community-supported agriculture in Santa Cruz County.

Patch talked this week to Cucchiara-Sitka, manager of the Women Organic Flower Enterprise and Homeless Garden Project retail store.

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Santa Cruz Patch: You have a year-round store on West Cliff, but the downtown storefront for the holidays is something else. How did that come about?

Tamara Cucchiara-Sitka: The city offered the Cooper House [next to O’Neill’s on Pacific Avenue downtown] to the Homeless Garden Project. We were there last year, too. Apparently, the property management donates five weeks a year to HGP. Our Holiday Store is a unique retail fundraiser every year. 

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Patch: What do you sell at the ?

Tamara: We sold many HGP products—made only by homeless trainees under my supervision, direction and creations—such as the first HGP calendar, lavender shortbread mix, lavender sugar, lavender sea salt, herb savory biscuit mix, organic rosemary olive oil, organic rosemary garlic olive oil, organic rosemary vinegar, lavender brownie mix, herb (sage, thyme, bay leaf, rosemary) wreaths, bay wreaths, lavender wreaths, succulent wreaths (10-inch, 12-inch, 14-inch and the largest, 36-inch wreaths), succulent holiday containers, succulent art forms, artisan candles, garden salve and lavender soy candles.

My goal was to partner with local consignment/venders that used recycled, re-purposed, reused, natural and organic products. It was important to us that we represent sustainability, not just with our organization but with our community partners. 

We partnered with local organizations such as Slow Coast, Camp Hill, Homeless Services Center, Deerhaven Soaps and Food, What? Many local artists helped us, along with local photographers and master gardeners. They made mosaic artist, recycled jewelry, recycled crushed-can art, jewelry made out of recycled paper and coloring books called "Homeless Garden."  

Patch: How did you do, and how does this compare with last year’s sales?

Tamara: We tripled our profits this year—the best year HGP has ever in regards to the Holiday Store.

Patch: To what do you attribute your success, even during a year plagued by a tough economy?

Tamara: HGP has been around for a long time—21 years. There’s that and also lots of advertisement, First Friday participation, Facebook, people who want to give back, people who want to end the homelessness in Santa Cruz, people who want to shop local and purchase organic and natural products. There’s also so many amazing artists, our store location, the layout and staging of the store, the assortment of products, plants, art, jewelry and HGP products. 

We had customers coming back two and three times with friends and family. People said the store was welcoming, warm, positive, beautiful and staged so lovely. They said they loved the fragrance from the lavender and the paper whites, that there was lots to choose from, and they loved the mission. I called it our Outside In Store. 

We averaged 100 to 200 customers a day. It was busy every day.

Patch: What do you do at the HGP, and how long have you been involved?

Tamara: I've been with HGP four months, since August of this year.  I'm the manager of the Women's Organic Flower Enterprise and Retail Store. I supervise our homeless trainees in production at the workshop (Depot Park), the farm and St. Francis Kitchen, where all food products are made. All the products go down to the Holiday Store, and I contract all the consignment venders, advertise, market and use Facebook, contact the media, partner with other local organizations, and so on. 

Patch: Tell us about the retail store you have that’s open all year long.

Tamara: Our little store is at 30 West Cliff Dr. We carry many of the same HGP products that were at the Holiday Store. Our little store is about 950 square feet. We are open Mondays through Fridays, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

We really want the community to shop there all year around. Most of the community thinks of the Holiday Store as HGP; I really want the community to think of the year-round store as just as important.

Patch: Do you plan anything new for 2012?

Tamara: My goal for 2012 is to drive more customer traffic to the HGP’s retail store, with quarterly events, such as last October’s Sweets and Treats Event.

I’d also like to see more homeless people hired on with HGP in the spring, to help our trainees find jobs and sustainability, to bring more awareness to the community about homelessness, to increase our online store business, to increase our sales and production goals, to have more lavender and succulents on the farm and to keep the little store open during the holiday season for people who don't want to shop downtown.  

To reach the retail store, call 831-426-3609. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

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