The vocational program at Father Joe’s Villages is growing in more ways than one.
Formerly homeless people studying culinary arts at the nonprofit will learn hydroponic farming, or growing plants without soil, to acquire a new skill that could help them find jobs.
“We all know that income makes the difference in all our lives in how we’re able to pay rent and how we’re able to provide for ourselves and our families,” Father Joe’s President and CEO Deacon Jim Vargas said during a Tuesday opening ceremony at the garden.
“And that’s especially important for those who are on the street and have very few sources of income,” he said. “When they come to us, one of the things that we do is provide them with the skills they need in order to get up on their feet and be able to get get to the point where they’re self sufficient.”
The garden is in a sunny room on the 12th floor of the 16th & Market Affordable Workforce Apartments, where basil and lettuce has been growing from white plastic tubes filled with water for the past few months. Students in the culinary arts programs have harvested some of the plants and used them in meals served to clients.
Jason Harvey, who has lived in Father Joe’s housing for about five months, is in the 16-week culinary arts program and was one of the people serving food prepared by students to guests at the Tuesday ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of the garden.
“I was on the street for about four months,” he said, explaining that he moved to San Diego earlier this year with a plan to live with his sister in Chula Vista, but things didn’t work out.
“I came downtown because I heard about Father Joe’s,” he said. “It was pretty rough in Chula Vista. Somebody told me that if I made it downtown I should look them up.”
Harvey went to Father Joe’s hoping for something to eat, and then discovered housing and other services were available. Once off the street, he began studying culinary arts, one of several courses offered in the nonprofit’s skills and training enhancement programs.
“I’ve worked in a kitchen before and I figured it would be the easiest way to get back into the world,” he said. “It’s been probably 15 years since I’ve been in a kitchen, and I figured this class would be a good way to refresh some of the skills I had in the past.”
Vargas said more restaurants are hiring people with experience in hydroponics, which he called a growing field. Graduates of the 12-week culinary arts program are finding success in their job searches, he said, noting that all six students in the last graduating class had job offers before their lessons were complete.
Hydroponic garden is included in the culinary arts program and covers lessons in seeding, transplanting, tools and other topics over 48 classroom hours. Vargas said the garden may be expanded in the future and the lessons may be broken off into their own courses.
Father Joe’s also offers classes in custodial work, dish-washing, security, bike repair, home health care aid, property management, prep cooking and heating, ventilation and air conditioning maintenance.
Equipment for the hydroponic garden costs about $45,000, with the majority coming from a $40,000 grant from The St. Augustine Foundation. Executive Director David Canedo said the foundation also has presented Father Joe’s with an $84,000 grant for search engine optimization and a $38,000 grant for its chaplaincy and volunteer services program.
Father Joe’s also has a traditional garden in Jinny Jo Park on 17th Street downtown, where produce for Father Joe’s meals have been grown for years.
Vista-based Solutions for Change operates an aquaponic farm, which uses water from fish culture to nourish produce, as part of its work-experience program. The farm opened seven years ago and provides produce to local school districts.