HEP Urban Empowerment Garden

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Clearwater, FL
HEP Urban Empowerment Garden

The HEP Empowerment Garden grows organic produce for the homeless individuals and families on campus.

10/22/2025

Interested in seeing how HEP grows food for our Dining Hall and Mobile Market? Join us for our upcoming Farm Tours! We have 3 dates to choose from: October 24th, December 12th, and February 20th. These events are free and family friendly so you won’t want to miss it!

The first tour is happening THIS Friday from 4-5PM, we hope to see you there 🥬

07/24/2025

Thank you to everyone who nominated HEP for the Best of the Bay! We're thrilled to share that we've been nominated in the following categories: Best Nonprofit, Best Place to Volunteer, Best Community Garden, Best Thrift Store, Best CEO and Best Fashion Event!

It is easy to show your support! Just click the links below and you will be taken directly to each category. Once you are there, use the drop-down box and select HEP. Click vote and then repeat these steps for all six categories. Voting runs through August 20, and you can vote daily.

Best Nonprofit- https://ow.ly/K0VH50Ws422
Best Place to Volunteer- https://ow.ly/pKHu50Ws45k
Best Community Garden- https://ow.ly/u4ir50Ws45N
Best Thrift Shop- https://ow.ly/pFSw50Ws46i
Best Fashion Event- https://ow.ly/OCbH50Ws46L
Best CEO- https://ow.ly/ONpY50Ws49Q

06/09/2025

Best of the Bay nominations are closing June 11th! Only the top 10 nominees will move on to the final voting phase, so we need your help! We would love to get your nomination for the categories below and you can submit nominations daily! Click the links below to go straight to each nomination page or visit https://vote.cltampa.com/.

Best Community Garden: HEP Empowerment Garden- https://vote.cltampa.com/places/best-community-garden
Best Nonprofit: Homeless Empowerment Program- https://vote.cltampa.com/places/best-nonprofit
Best Place to Volunteer: Homeless Empowerment Program- https://vote.cltampa.com/places/best-place-to-volunteer
Best Thrift Store: HEP Thrift Store- https://vote.cltampa.com/goods/best-thrift-shop
Best CEO: Ashley Lowery- Homeless Empowerment Program- https://vote.cltampa.com/people/best-ceo
Best Fashion Event: HEP's Annual Fashion Show Fundraiser: Renewing Hope on the Runway- https://vote.cltampa.com/arts/best-fashion-event

05/20/2025

Good news! For our summer Mobile Market hours, we will be continuing to set up on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-1 outside of the HEP Thrift Store!

If you don’t see the trailer, no worries, we will be popped up under a tent in the grass next to where we are normally set up 😊

05/19/2025

Best of the Bay nominations are open now through June 11th! Only the top 10 nominees will move on to the final voting phase, so we need your help! We would love to get your nomination for the categories below and you can submit nominations daily! Click the links below to go straight to each nomination page or visit https://vote.cltampa.com/.

Best Community Garden: HEP Empowerment Garden- https://vote.cltampa.com/places/best-community-garden

Best Nonprofit: Homeless Empowerment Program- https://vote.cltampa.com/places/best-nonprofit

Best Place to Volunteer: Homeless Empowerment Program- https://vote.cltampa.com/places/best-place-to-volunteer

Best Thrift Store: HEP Thrift Store- https://vote.cltampa.com/goods/best-thrift-shop

Best CEO: Ashley Lowery- Homeless Empowerment Program- https://vote.cltampa.com/people/best-ceo

Best Fashion Event: HEP's Annual Fashion Show Fundraiser: Renewing Hope on the Runway- https://vote.cltampa.com/arts/best-fashion-event

05/05/2025

Last Saturday, we had our Bend and Bloom event, and it was a great success! We began our morning with an hour-long restorative yoga session hosted right outside of our vertical greenhouses. We also enjoyed some delicious treats and refreshments, including some mulberry jam and herbal tea made with ingredients grown in our gardens.

A big THANK YOU to those who attended our first event benefitting our Garden Program. And thank you Katie, for so graciously donating your time in leading our yoga class!

04/10/2025

Join us in the HEP Vertical Garden for a Restorative yoga class, breakfast bites and tea grown in HEP’s Empowerment Garden! Learn more about the HEP gardens, how we grow and harvest fresh produce and how we distribute it to our kitchen, residents and community. Tickets are $40 in advance and $50 the day-of the event. Click the link below to see sponsorships opportunities and purchase tickets. All proceeds from this event will benefit the HEP Empowerment Garden.

To purchase tickets or sponsorships visit: https://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/registration-form/?formId=141a1a83-6189-42c2-bcf9-e440d47fda89&envId=p-j9HPZslNXk-S20F4KCLAjA&zone=usa

*Mats and towels not provided. Please bring your own to this event.

About the Homeless Empowerment Program (HEP):

Founded in 1986 in Clearwater, Florida, the Homeless Empowerment Program (HEP) is the most comprehensive social service agency in the Tampa Bay area. HEP offers an integrated solution to the issue of homelessness by providing low-income families and individuals, including Veterans, with housing, food, clothing and support services necessary to obtain self-sufficiency and improved quality of life. As part of its mission, HEP operates a 366-bed facility, offering emergency, transitional, permanent and permanent supportive housing to the temporarily homeless and mentally disabled individuals, families with children, and Veterans. Through housing and critical support services, HEP empowers its residents and helps to break the cycle of homelessness.

For more information, please visit www.HEPempowers.org.

02/20/2025

We’re entering our most productive time of the year, and the gardens have never looked so good. We’re currently harvesting: lettuce, collards, kale, green onions, bell peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes, carrots, turnips, radishes, and edible flowers…

Cabbage, onions, potatoes, and mangoes coming real soon 👀

Don’t forget to stop by our Mobile Market on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the HEP Thrift Store from 10-1, where you can buy all of this lovely produce and more!

10/22/2024

We are very grateful that we didn’t sustain much damage from the hurricanes. It’s bit of a mess, and put us a little behind, but we are happy that most of our crops stayed resilient! Counting our blessings 🧡

10/17/2024

LOOK WHO’S BACK! Debbie whipped out the Mobile Market trailer in celebration of the cooler weather!

Come see us 😊 every Tuesday and Thursday 10-1PM at the HEP Thrift Store.

We have a large variety of produce including things from our garden: Okra, Mixed Greens, Blue Butterfly Pea, and Sweet Potato Greens. We’ll have more things available as we begin the bulk of our harvest in November and December!

09/19/2024

We are very excited about our new partnership with Life Farms. Rowland and his team offered their consulting services to our garden team at a reduced rate. Life Farms is a 6-acre urban farm producing nutrient-dense, organic produce for Clearwater and the surrounding areas. We look forward to seeing the fruits of this partnership including increased overall yields and expansion of our two gardens. 👩‍🌾🍠

08/28/2024

This is your last chance to vote HEP Best of the Bay! Just click the category links below and be taken directly to the voting page for each. 🧡

Cast your votes here:
⭐️Best Nonprofit- https://vote.cltampa.com/places/best-nonprofit
⭐️Best Place to Volunteer- https://vote.cltampa.com/places/best-place-to-volunteer
⭐️Best Thrift Store- https://vote.cltampa.com/goods/best-thrift-shop
⭐️Best Community Garden- https://vote.cltampa.com/places/best-community-garden
⭐️Best CEO- https://vote.cltampa.com/people/best-ceo

Address

Clearwater, FL
33755

Telephone

+17274429041

Website

https://www.HEPempowers.org/

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