Ellington, CT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: The town will install a greenhouse at a senior center's garden, which grows produce for the local food pantry. The greenhouse will lengthen the growing season, enabling volunteers to garden during colder months.

Germantown, MD

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: This project will support a community garden's operations with workshops on harvesting produce and winterization, as well as community events to tend the space. The garden provides an accessible space for residents to grow fresh fruits and vegetables and address local food insecurity.

Philadelphia, PA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: The Viola Street Community Garden has served the East Parkside neighborhood for half a century. But the garden faced challenges related to soil quality water access -- gardeners had to haul in water barrels from a fire hydrant down the block. And because the City owned the garden property, its future was uncertain. After Neighborhood Gardens Trust assumed ownership, they wanted to improve the space. The organization built raised beds, brought in fresh soil and installed a new irrigation system. Volunteers also laid down ADA-accessible pathways to accommodate gardeners of all ages and abilities. New fencing, as well as a picnic table and shade umbrella, made the space welcoming. Since the upgrades, the Trust has added new parcels to the garden's footprint. Organizers say the garden helps ensure food access for West Philadelphia families, helping heal disparities resulting from systemic racism and disinvestment.