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Garden Raised Bounty (2020) Print
2020 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Community Gardens
└ Community Gardens
Garden Raised Bounty installed 21 home gardens throughout Thurston County, giving the recipients access to healthy food and community connections. The organization adapted half of the gardens to meet accessibility needs and customized all of the gardens for specific recipients. Garden Raised Bounty also provided growing guides, online tutorials, seeds or starter plants, recipes and one-on-one support to ensure each garden's success. Its goal was to increase food security and provide for the mental and physical well-being of its recipients, many of whom reported the project had a positive impact on their communities and lives.
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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.
Stamford, CT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: To make Fairgate Farm more accessible for people of all ages and abilities, project organizers extended an existing ADA-compliant crushed stone walkway leading from the farm's entrance to its market. They also made gathering at the farm more comfortable by installing picnic tables, benches, a bike rack and raised gardening beds. The urban garden and community gathering space on Stamford's West Side hosts programming for community members, from cooking demos to gardening workshops and cooking classes. Fairgate Farm attracts volunteers from across the community, who grow and distribute more than 5,000 pounds of organic fruits and vegetables each year. The produce is then donated to low-income volunteers, their families and local hunger relief charities.
Atlanta, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Using donated recycled and salvaged lumber, the Lifecycle Building Center built 14 Little Free Pantries and 10 garden beds. The Center used the fabrication work to demonstrate how the construction industry can help strengthen communities by prioritizing the reuse of materials. Mounted at chest height for easy access and placed in public areas, the pantries allow community members experiencing food insecurity to collect items as needed. Local nonprofit Friends of Refugees stocked the pantries with 1,000 pounds of food. The raised-bed planters went to the homes of refugee gardeners.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Tacoma, WA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Entrepreneurship and improved economic resilience
Description: Older adults reentering society after incarceration faced steep barriers, from food insecurity to lack of digital skills needed for jobs and services. The project delivered 12 digital literacy trainings to more than 209 participants, distributed laptops to those without devices and expanded food distribution for stability. These efforts built confidence and independence, enabling older adults to navigate technology and connect with resources. "We have helped hundreds of our local seniors, including myself," said one participant, underscoring the projects lasting impact.
Tacoma, WA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Many families in Tacoma struggle to access fresh, nutritious food. To allow residents to harvest vegetables in their own neighborhoods, Food is Free planted garden plots throughout the city. Organizers installed raised garden beds in residents' front yards, in tree boxes and in the public right-of-way along the city's sidewalks. Food is Free ensured the gardens met the City's code requirements. Each garden produces about 100 pounds of produce annually. Gardeners get to keep a fifth of their harvest, with the rest offered to residents during food share events held in a local park. In addition to increasing food access, project organizers say the effort helped participants -- including older adults -- become more engaged with one another.
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