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City of Montpelier Parks and Trees Department (2022) Print
2022 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Community Gardens
└ Community Gardens
Older residents faced barriers to affordable fresh produce and lacked a welcoming space to gather. The project launched weekly pop-up farm-stand events outside the local center, offering low-cost food grown at the city's Feast Farm. A mobile stand, shade tent and signage were added, and volunteers-including many age 50-plus-helped run events featuring music and cooking demos. The farm stand became a seasonal hub for social connection and healthy eating. One volunteer said it was "wonderful to see all the fresh produce and feel part of something." Plans include continuing the farm stand and expanding different programs.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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See More Projects Like This One
New Brunswick, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Volunteers and adults age 50-plus will expand a church community garden by adding raised beds. The garden will grow more fresh produce for a local food pantry and provide hands-on gardening and nutrition education.
Green Bay, WI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: The Farmory is a nonprofit urban farm, where community members can learn about sustainable agriculture and aquaponics. However, many of the farm's features were inaccessibly to visitors who rely on wheelchairs or other mobility devices. To make the space more accessible, the Farmory installed a new aquaponics system, which is low to the ground. This allows visitors to see the farm's growing systems without needing to climb onto a ladder. The system consists of four growing beds, water tanks, a germinating chamber and a harvesting area. Today, produce grown with the new aquaponics system also helps combat food insecurity -- the Farmory donates about ten pounds of greens each week to the county's Aging and Disability Resource Center.
Columbus, OH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: The International Harvest Garden lacked shade and seating, leaving gardeners age 50-plus and families without a comfortable place to rest or gather. The project added a picnic table with side access for mobility aids, a shade trellis and improved walkways for easier navigation. These upgrades will support cultural events and reduce isolation, with volunteers saying the changes will make the garden "a sanctuary as well as a place of growth and education."
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Montpelier, VT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Accessibility of amenities
Description: Montpelier's farmers market lacked shaded rest areas, leaving older adults vulnerable to heat and limiting their time at the market. To address this, the market added two rest tents with cushioned chairs, benches and water stations, plus rolling carts to help shoppers carry groceries. Volunteers maintain the spaces weekly, and the improvements have drawn praise from vendors and visitors, who say they can now stay longer and enjoy music and community events. The changes have made the market more accessible and social, with plans to expand seating and shade as demand grows.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Montpelier, VT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: To provide a place for cyclists and walkers to rest and socialize, this project developed a pocket park along an existing bike path. Guertin Pocket Park features a pergola -- a wooden structure with a roof -- to provide shelter from the sun or rain. Project organizers also incorporated seating and bike racks, as well as a rainwater collection system that feeds a small decorative garden. In 2021, the city decided to move the pocket park to a new location in the heart of downtown.
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