In 2024, Aiken Senior Life Services was one of the recipients of the USDA Community Garden Sustaining Garden Award, administered through Community Resources Connection (CRC) Inc.  Aiken Senior Life Services has been very active in the South Carolina community with their bountiful and beautiful community garden named the Aiken Seniors Community Garden, also referred to as the Grateful Garden. 

Demonstrations were conducted at the community garden on how to use sustainable practices that nurture, heal and protect the soil, air and water.   Aiken Senior Life Services partnered with Aiken Master Gardeners to host their first Garden Party Fundraiser Event which was a huge success.  Guests enjoyed and night of food, music, and fellowship. 

In May 2024, Aiken Senior Life Services held a Culinary Medicine Demonstration conducted by Dr. Priya Deshpande. Dr. Deshpande explained how to prepare healthy dishes to target and help resolve health issues and participants received tasty full-sized samples of delicious home-cooked meals.

A Fermentation Workshop was offered to members in the community free of charge.  The workshop covered the fundamentals of the fermentation process, including the different types of microorganisms involved (like yeast and bacteria), how to cultivate them, the various fermentation techniques for different foods, safety and sanitation practices, and proper equipment usage. Participants had the opportunity to do a hands-on experiment of creating fermented sauerkraut that was very tasty.

Aiken Seniors Community Garden has made a huge impact in the local community with growing fresh fruits and vegetables for those in need and native trees, shrubs, and flowers for wildlife.  The garden was updated to include an awning for the dry erase board, cinder blocks for the rain barrel and a gutter system.  The garden offers a place where neighbors can gather to learn and share their ideas and experiences.