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Veggielution (2021) Print
2021 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public space activation
└ Public space activation
The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the local economy in San Jose's Washington neighborhood. To help meet the community's needs, Veggielution hosted free arts and environmental education programming. The local nonprofit, which aims to connect people through food and farming, invited people to the SoFa pocket park, which the organization created on the site of an underused parking lot. Events included a monthly garden art workshop and live musical and theater performances by local arts organizations. Additionally, Veggielution worked with a local arts school to create a mural for the pocket park. The activities helped link residents to resources, such as food assistance and entrepreneurship training, and connected local nonprofit organizations to each other, creating a better web of support for the community.
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Kuna, ID
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Public space activation
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Earle, AR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Public space activation
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AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The Barelas Community Coalition hoped to create a welcoming, multigenerational gathering space to allow community members to eat, play, and learn together. The organization constructed a shade structure, added a bench, installed solar lighting and displayed signage at a public courtyard. The outdoor area is part of the Las Esquinita complex, an indoor commercial space that includes a small food hall and artisan market. It is also located next to a new food truck park, which the Coalition helps manage. Today, the space serves as a public art venue where resident can communicate their ideas, wants and feelings alongside an existing mural. Project organizers say the project helped secure long-term support for their activation efforts and allowed the community to rally around local revitalization activities.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
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AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
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AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: HomeFit Modifications
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Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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