Anchorage, AK

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: Many Anchorage residents who visit the city's food pantries have traditionally lacked access to fresh produce. The St. Francis House Food Pantry, run by Catholic Social Services, serves more than 10,000 people every year, distributing more than 700,000 pounds of food. To offer more fresh vegetables, CSS transformed an underused courtyard on the St. Francis House property into a community garden with 15 raised beds. Volunteers also created a mural depicting Alaska wildlife to decorate the area used for drive-through food pickup. Older adult volunteers manage the garden, which gives food pantry clients and CSS staff a space to share ideas and culture across socioeconomic, age and racial boundaries.

Beverly, MA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: The Blooming in Beverly project installed raised garden beds in older adults' front yards. Beverly Main Streets matched 50 older adults with families with young children, who built and delivered the beds, then planted flowers and vegetables in them. Project organizers hoped to foster intergenerational relationships, helping combat social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative allowed young children to make a new friend as they helped with weekly watering. Older adult participants reported they were grateful to be around children, since many had not seen their own grandchildren since the pandemic began. The intergenerational pairings also allowed older adults to reap the benefits of gardening while avoiding hard, physical exertion.

Greenville, MS

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: As part of efforts to transform a vacant lot into a community garden, Greenville's Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church installed a new fence and hoop houses at the site. The hoop houses cover the beds and keep them warm, allowing gardeners to grow produce through the winter months. In addition, the church installed a sign to inform passersby about the Third and Spruce Community Garden. Since these improvements, project organizers made an agreement with a local food pantry to provide fresh produce to individuals and families facing food insecurity. During the 2021-2022 growing season, the garden produced about 900 pounds of fruits and vegetables. The Church also plans to hold gardening skills workshops and healthy food demonstrations for the community.