St. Louis, MO

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: STL Village partnered with volunteers from the community to restore the Lewis Place Community Garden, which had gone unplanted during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Volunteers cleared the site of overgrowth, refurbished garden beds, installed a storage shed and planted and watered vegetables, shrubs and trees. Neighborhood residents formed a garden committee charged with maintaining the site going forward. STL Village also created a resource guide for local older adults with a specific focus on services for low-income families.

Pablo, MT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: This project created a greenhouse and an adjacent garden and supplied them with soil, cultivation materials and other necessities. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes gave the resulting produce to meal programs and individual families.

Philadelphia, PA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: Philadelphia's Hunter Park neighborhood is considered a food desert. The Food Trust's community orchard, garden and farmer's market give local families a way to access fresh fruits and vegetables. To raise awareness, Food Trust workers handed out fliers and put up banners directing residents to the market. They also put on a fall festival, which featured a series of walking tours of the gardening facilities, which are located within a neighborhood park. Volunteers distributed coupons to attendees, allowing them to purchase fruits and vegetables grown onsite. Additionally, the Food Trust provided tour participants with garden kits and encouraged them to join the volunteer-led community garden. Since the publicity efforts, project organizers report a boost in garden membership.