Cleveland, OH

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: The Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority saw an opportunity to revitalize an abandoned volleyball court behind one of their public housing buildings, creating a space to bring residents together and address social isolation. Using input from the residents of Riverview Tower, an apartment building for low-income older adults, they created a garden where residents can grow their own fruits and vegetables. The garden has places to sit and features accessibility features for residents with mobility challenges. Additionally, the space includes sensory areas, which allow visitors to smell, touch and taste herbs, fruits and berries.

Newark, NJ

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: Newark's Central Ward struggles with food insecurity, leaving older adults and families without access to fresh produce. To address this, the organization expanded a school-based garden at Louise A. Spencer Elementary, adding beds designed for older adults and providing adaptive tools. Residents now maintain the garden during summer, ensuring sustainability and fostering intergenerational ties. One student said gardening with his grandmother "reminds him of his dad and helps him feel close to his culture."

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

Delaware County, OH

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: To give older adult residents of an affordable housing complex a space to gather, SourcePoint and Age-Friendly Delaware County created an accessible community garden. Volunteers installed raised beds to enable gardeners to work without needing to kneel down. Additionally, they laid an ADA-complaint crushed gravel path, added accessible benches and erected an aluminum fence around the space. Today, St. Michael's Community Garden hosts programming for gardeners and non-gardeners alike, including healthy cooking classes. Project organizers say the garden has helped combat social isolation, and senior housing residents now grow produce in their own backyard, which helps reduce their grocery bills.