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.

Camp Hill, AL

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: Camp Hill residents lacked access to fresh produce and safe spaces for exercise, leaving many older adults in a food desert. The foundation responded by building raised beds for a fall garden, installing fencing and creating a one-mile asphalt walking path. Volunteers planted greens that fed more than 200 people and added signage to make the space inviting. The project now serves as a permanent resource for healthy living and sparked plans for composting, marketing produce and adding a hoop house for year-round growing.

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

Anderson, SC

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: To expose locals to art and grow food for people in need, Anderson Arts Center beautified its campus by creating a new mural and community garden. The first mural in Anderson, it depicts a rabbit alongside a colorful fruit and vegetables. Since its completion, it has inspired other local organizations to create their own murals around town. Project organizers say within the garden's first year, the Center taught nearly 500 children about growing fresh vegetables. The Arts Center, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, hosts gallery exhibitions featuring regional, national and international artists, orchestrates downtown public arts projects and is home to a summer arts camp and arts school for children and adults.