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Healthy Chesapeake (2022) Print
2022 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Community Gardens
└ Community Gardens
Residents in a low-income Chesapeake neighborhood lacked access to fresh food and safe spaces for social engagement. The project created an accessible community garden at a local library with raised beds, adaptive tools, wheelchair-friendly seating and Mobi-mat paths. Volunteers hosted a "Golden Age Garden Party" featuring health screenings, cooking demonstrations and chair yoga. The garden now provides fresh produce and a welcoming space for older adults to gather and exercise. "I now have access to fresh vegetables in my own backyard," said one resident.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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See More Projects Like This One
Ho'olehua, HI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: A fenced community garden area with raised beds and irrigation will be built for older residents. Accessible gardening will support food access, activity and shared growing spaces.
Mobile, AL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: When the Mobile Medical Museum added a medicinal garden to its campus, the space included a a wooden boardwalk. However, older adults and people with disabilities struggles to navigate the boardwalk. This project made the garden ADA-compliant. Organizers removed the boardwalk and repaved and widened a crumbling concrete path leading to the garden. The garden -- which features medicinal herbs -- hosts community events, as well as art and horticultural therapy classes for people with disabilities and their families.
Opa-locka, FL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: For Opa-Locka residents, the closest supermarket is more than a mile away, making fresh produce in this low-income community hard to come by. The Opa-Locka Community Development Corporation conducted an extensive community engagement process to determine what kinds of fresh produce the community needed most. They then responded by planting 14 fruit trees -- as well as herbs -- in the common area of a multifamily residential development. The CDC also installed lighting, benches and other amenities in the space, allowing residents to gather there.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Chesapeake, VA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Disaster Preparedness
Description: Hurricanes and flooding pose real risks in the Chesapeake region, yet many residents lacked practical knowledge about evacuation zones or how the City manages emergencies. The Library partnered with emergency officials to host three sessions offered in person and online, supported by disaster kit displays and 200 take-home booklets. A newcomer said she learned what to pack and appreciated being able to ask questions. Attendees left with clearer expectations for preparing and responding, prompting the Library to expand annual programming and reach more older adults.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Newport News, VA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: A community garden at a popular community center will be enhanced by adding accessible pathways, raised beds, seating and gathering space. These improvements will support gardening and social connection for residents age 50-plus.
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