Howard County, MD

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Addressing community health

Description: Many Howard County residents experience food insecurity. To provide non-perishable groceries to families in need, the Indian Cultural Association of Howard County set up five Little Free Pantries in the towns of Columbia, Ellicott City and Woodbine. Volunteers stock the pantries twice a week, and each operates on a give-and-take basis. In the first year after their installation, the pantries supplied more than 3,000 pounds of food to residents.

Fairbanks, AK

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Addressing community health

Description: Older adults who once grew large gardens for a local food program could no longer manage the work, reducing fresh produce for patients in the Food Is Medicine initiative. The Plant a Pot project supplied pots, soil and plants to 115 people, with volunteers helping them grow vegetables like broccoli and cabbage. Harvests supported the program and revived a sense of purpose for participants. Local service clubs also gained new energy and became more sustainable, with one member saying that the effort improved connections and generated stories of success.

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

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, SD

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Addressing community health

Description: Organizers wanted to ensure the Red Cloud Indian School's weekly farmers market was welcoming to elders. The Pine Ridge Reservation is a food desert, but the market offers residents access to fresh produce, as well as ingredients for traditional foods, teas and medicines. To attract older adults to the market, they launched Elder Hours, which feature traditional cooking demonstrations and other educational offerings. They also added wayfinding signage to help elders navigate to parking spaces and seating near vendors, which market organizers specifically set aside for older adults. To help people transport their purchases, Red Cloud purchased branded tote bags, which they distribute to elders who visit the market. Project organizers hope the outreach efforts help decrease longstanding health disparities among tribal members.