Philadelphia, PA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: Philadelphia's Hunter Park neighborhood is considered a food desert. The Food Trust's community orchard, garden and farmer's market give local families a way to access fresh fruits and vegetables. To raise awareness, Food Trust workers handed out fliers and put up banners directing residents to the market. They also put on a fall festival, which featured a series of walking tours of the gardening facilities, which are located within a neighborhood park. Volunteers distributed coupons to attendees, allowing them to purchase fruits and vegetables grown onsite. Additionally, the Food Trust provided tour participants with garden kits and encouraged them to join the volunteer-led community garden. Since the publicity efforts, project organizers report a boost in garden membership.

Providence, RI

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: Residents at a Providence center for older adults faced limited access to fresh food and social connection. Youth staff revitalized raised garden beds with vegetables and herbs for meals and transformed the courtyard with flowers and benches. They also interviewed older adults and hosted cooking demonstrations to gather cultural recipes for a second edition of a graphic novel-style cookbook. The cookbook combines stories and recipes by refugees, many of whom are age 50-plus, in order to preserve their experiences and food traditions. The garden became a source of joy and nutrition while fostering intergenerational ties. "Recording personal experiences for the cookbook is validating... and will help preserve their stories and cultures," said a partner at a local women's care center.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.

St. George, AK

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: On remote St. George Island, access to food is challenging. Grocery shipments arrive by plane, which are sometimes grounded due to inclement weather. This makes food insecurity a concern, especially among lower-income residents. Organizers with Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association hoped to help the community grow its own produce. They renovated a rundown greenhouse, adding a new door, equipment and raised garden beds. Local children contributed by creating a wooden sign for the space. Additionally, project organizers installed seating, creating a community gathering space. Organizers plan to continue to upgrade the greenhouse, which provides vegetables for congregate meals for community elders.