Seattle, WA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: This project spruced up the rooftop Pike Place Market Secret Garden, allowing volunteer gardeners to produce more fruits and vegetables there. All produce grown in the garden is provided to the Pike Market Food Bank, with nearly 500 fresh herbs and vegetables donated each year. In addition, the garden hosts intergenerational activities organized by a nearby assisted living facility, a childcare center and a preschool. The Pike Market Food Bank also received an AARP Community Challenge grant in 2019, which allowed it to install directional signage to help visitors find its hard-to-reach location. Established in 1982, the Pike Place Market Foundation aims to help low-income and unhoused Seattle residents who live in the neighborhood.

St. Johnsbury, VT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: To give residents access to fresh produce, the Vermont Community Garden Network installed garden beds at two affordable housing complexes in St. Johnsbury and Newport. Over several building days, volunteers worked to clear old wood and debris, cut boards to construct the raised beds, fill them with soil and plant garlic bulbs for residents to harvest in the spring. To ensure the crop's success, they also held a demonstration to teach residents how to plant, care for and harvest garlic. In addition to improving residents' physical health through nutritious food, organizers say the gardens will support mental health, too, by combating social isolation. The Network continues to host workshops and provide seeds, tools and other support to gardeners at both housing complexes.

Portsmouth, NH

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: Residents of Atlantic Heights Senior Housing faced barriers to fresh food and outdoor activity, leaving many isolated. Gather partnered with the housing authority to build four raised garden beds, install a watering system and provide seasonal plants. Twenty residents helped plan, plant and maintain vegetables, herbs and flowers. The gardens now offer a sustainable source of produce, improve nutrition and foster social connection while removing mobility barriers. Success has inspired plans for gardening workshops and expansion to other housing sites.

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