Embodied connections: sustainability, food systems and community gardens

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 509-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethaney Turner
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Community Gardens

scholarly journals Urban agriculture as a keystone contribution towards securing sustainable and healthy development for cities in the future

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. G. Skar ◽  
R. Pineda-Martos ◽  
A. Timpe ◽  
B. Pölling ◽  
K. Bohn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Healthy Development ◽  
Vertical Farming ◽  
Integrated Agriculture ◽  
Water Waste

Abstract Research and practice during the last 20 years has shown that urban agriculture can contribute to minimising the effects of climate change by, at the same time, improving quality of life in urban areas. In order to do so most effectively, land use and spatial planning are crucial so as to obtain and maintain a supportive green infrastructure and to secure citizens' healthy living conditions. As people today trend more towards living in green and sustainable city centres that can offer fresh and locally produced food, cities become again places for growing food. The scope of urban agriculture thereby is to establish food production sites within the city's sphere; for example, through building-integrated agriculture including concepts such as aquaponics, indoor agriculture, vertical farming, rooftop production, edible walls, as well as through urban farms, edible landscapes, school gardens and community gardens. Embedded in changing urban food systems, the contribution of urban agriculture to creating sustainable and climate-friendly cities is pivotal as it has the capacity to integrate other resource streams such as water, waste and energy. This article describes some of the current aspects of the circular city debate where urban agriculture is pushing forward the development of material and resource cycling in cities.

Community-Engaged Older Adult-Led Policy, Systems, and Environment Interventions in the MS High Obesity Program

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 420-420
Author(s):  
Masey Smith ◽  
Katie Halfacre ◽  
Megan Holmes ◽  
David Buys
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Poor Outcomes ◽  
New Policies ◽  
Policy Systems ◽  
Work Done

Abstract Older adults in rural areas are at unique risk for poor outcomes due to social isolation and limited access to resources. The Mississippi High Obesity Program (HOP) aims to enhance access to social connections and resources like community gardens, food pantries, and physical activity as part of its broader objective to prevent and reduce obesity. Through policy, systems and environment strategies, development of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between aforementioned entities, and community based participatory research approaches, Mississippi HOP efforts enhance food systems improvement efforts; grow multi-sectoral collaboration; and evaluate the effectiveness of new policies, and specifically MOUs, in reaching these goals. Older adults represent more than 40% (n=27) of all coalition members and stakeholder leaders (n=61); they are essential for the success of these initiatives. This presentation will highlight the work done during the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of and benefits to older adults, especially ones in rural communities.

University Students Harvesting the Benefits of a Garden Laboratory

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Jillian Ruhl ◽  
Daphne Lordly
Keyword(s):  
Personal Growth ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Survey Analysis ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Food Literacy ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
A Site

Community gardens (CG) are areas of land where individuals or groups grow food in single or shared plots, typically in an urban setting, providing fresh produce, urban greening, and opportunities to socialize and improve the community. The purpose of this descriptive study was to introduce a CG laboratory (lab) as part of an introductory foods course within a nutrition program and explore how the lab influenced students’ learning and overall experiences. Forty-one students, 2 lab instructors, and 3 student volunteers who tended the CG participated in the survey. Survey analysis revealed 4 interrelated themes: (i) connection and exposure, (ii) food preparation, (iii) benefits of using local food, and (iv) explicit learning. Overall, the lab fostered multiple types of individual and relational learning involving the acquisition of course content and food literacy skills. The CG was valued by students as a curriculum component as well as opportunities for personal growth and development. With the growing importance of food systems knowledge to the profession, CG may act as a site for embodied forms of learning in nutrition programs.

Indigenous Food Systems: Battling Whiteness through Decolonization

1969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie King
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
The United States ◽  
Alternative Food ◽  
Farmers Markets ◽  
Alternative Food Networks ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Alternative Food Systems ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
The North

Shaw (2006) argues that “the rubrics of difference against which Whiteness is commonly juxtaposed rarely includes Indigeneity, or the experiences of Indigenous peoples regardless of the North American domination of the field, and its settler context” (853). Viewing Canada and the United States as post-colonial nations, this paper seeks to broaden understandings of Indigenous food production, distribution, and consumption practices and/or projects and how they work to resist colonial histories of oppression. hooks (1992) defines decolonization as “a process of cultural and historical liberation; an act of confrontation with a dominant system of thought” (1). Using the concept of “Whiteness”, this research attempts to prove how small-scale Indigenous food systems located in North America decolonize dominant ways of seeing alternative food systems as white food spaces. To present this research to an interdisciplinary audience I will first attend to defining key concepts informing this research including: post-colonial nation, decolonization, Whiteness, and Indigeneity. I will then spend some time exploring what Sarah Whatmore describes as “Alternative Food Networks” (AFNs) and claims as “white food spaces”. Finally, in an attempt to decolonize alternative food systems as white spaces, I will share various forms of present-day, small-scale Indigenous food systems such as Wild Rice production by The White Earth Anishinaabe, the ‘Food from the Land’ program in the O-pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation, and various Indigenous farmers markets and community gardens.  

scholarly journals Caregivers’ Perspectives on the Determinants of Dietary Decisions in Six First Nation Communities

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorrilee McGregor ◽  
Pamela Toulouse ◽  
Marion Maar ◽  
Nancy L. Young
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food Sovereignty ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
First Nation ◽  
Processed Foods ◽  
Hunting And Fishing ◽  
Fishing Regulations

Colonialism is a fundamental determinant of Indigenous people’s health in Canada, yet little is known about its effects on food systems and dietary decisions in First Nation communities. A socioecological approach was used to explore the determinants of dietary decisions made by Indigenous caregivers. Conclusions are drawn from a narrative analysis of eight focus groups involving 33 caregivers in six First Nation communities. Caregivers identified the changes that they have observed in how food is procured, distributed, processed and prepared, along with the nutritional consequences and the sociocultural meanings of these changes. Determinants such as participation in the wage economy, low income, hunting and fishing regulations, availability of fish and game, and the proliferation of inexpensive, processed foods have altered the food systems and influenced dietary decisions made by caregivers in six First Nation communities. Initiatives such as community gardens, community freezers and community hunting camps are ways that these communities are seeking to regain food sovereignty.

scholarly journals Farming Chicago: Prospects for Higher Education Support of Sustainable Urban Food Systems in the U.S. Heartland

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-46
Author(s):  
Howard Rosing ◽  
Daniel R. Block
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Food System ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Universities And Colleges ◽  
High Dependency ◽  
Fresh Food

The article highlights recent food policies in Chicago with the goal of exploring how higher education institutions can contribute to development of sustainable food resources for residents of North American cities. Thousands of Chicago residents face daily challenges accessing fresh food due to income constraints and/or lack of proximity to food retailers. Concomitantly, the city’s high dependency on imported food, often from thousands of miles away, is countered by growing interest in local production in community gardens and urban farms. The article outlines efforts at redeveloping Chicago into a thriving producer of fresh food through advocacy, policy making, and planning; and curriculum and community engagement efforts at Chicago area universities and colleges that exemplifies higher education’s role in creating a just and ecologically sustainable urban food system. The examples illustrate the importance of multi-institutional collaboration, often driven by community-based advocacy groups that facilitate local food research, technical assistance, and policy initiatives with support from universities and colleges. The article therefore highlights the supportive role urban higher education institutions can play in building food systems that support the local food economy, contribute to improving the natural environment, and expand access to nutritious fresh food for those with the least wherewithal. 

scholarly journals Urban home gardens in the Global North: A mixed methods study of ethnic and migrant home gardens in Chicago, IL

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Taylor ◽  
Sarah Taylor Lovell
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Nutrient Loading ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
The United States ◽  
Home Gardens ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Urban Systems ◽  
High Porosity ◽  
Home Gardening

AbstractIn the United States, interest in urban farms and community gardens is flourishing, yet the urban home food garden (UHFG) and its contributions to urban systems have been overlooked and understudied. To begin to address this gap, we are conducting a mixed methods study of African American, Chinese-origin and Mexican-origin households with home gardens in Chicago, IL. Study methods include in-depth interviews, participant observation, ethnobotanical surveys and analysis of the chemical and physical properties of garden soils. As of this writing, findings indicate that home gardening has an array of beneficial effects, contributing to household food budgets and community food systems, the reproduction of cultural identity and urban biodiversity. The majority of informants in the study were internal or international migrants. For these individuals, gardening, culture-specific food plant assemblages and the foodways they support represent a continuation of cultural practices and traditional agroecological knowledge associated with their place of origin. The gardens of some migrant households also harbor urban agrobiodiversity with roots in the Global South. At the same time, gardens may have less salubrious effects on urban systems and populations. A lack of knowledge of safe gardening practices may expose vulnerable populations to environmental hazards such as soil contaminants. Gardeners in this study reported using synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides, sometimes indiscriminately, and the repeated application of synthetic fertilizers and compost may contribute to the nutrient loading of urban stormwater runoff. These effects may be moderated by the relatively low bulk density and high porosity of garden soils due to tillage and the application of organic matter, which can be expected to enhance stormwater infiltration. While the UHFG's potential contributions to urban systems are significant, outreach and research are needed to help gardeners grow food safely and sustainably in ways that contribute to overall ecosystem health.

scholarly journals Māori women leading local sustainable food systems

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-155
Author(s):  
Karyn Stein ◽  
Miranda Mirosa ◽  
Lynette Carter
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
The North ◽  
Kaupapa Māori

The article explores how Māori women in Aotearoa (New Zealand) are defining their own food system and the values of the women at the heart of their community food initiatives. Using a blend of participatory and kaupapa Māori (Māori principles) research methodologies, the study took place over the course of 3 years, involving four women or case studies who manage community food initiatives, with three located in the North Island and one in the South Island of New Zealand. The article discusses the benefits of community gardens and farms, noting how they are counteracting food poverty through promoting access to local food while bringing more attention to the essential role that Indigenous women play in addressing food security issues. The case studies exemplify how Māori women are leading the way within their own whānau (families) and communities, promoting local solutions to global food issues, solutions based on their own knowledge and Māori cultural values.

Counter crimes and food democracy: Suspects and citizens remaking the food system

2018 ◽  
pp. 367-384
Author(s):  
Sue Booth ◽  
John Coveney ◽  
Dominique Paturel
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
System P ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
Food Democracy

This chapter acknowledges the concept of food crime within the current global industrialised food system and explores three examples of crimes of consumption. A variety of acts of citizen resistance or ‘counter crimes’ in response to food crime are discussed. Counter crimes can be seen as a spectrum of acts of crime or disobedience, which have used food to make public statements. Both opposition and constructivist politics are employed in counter crime. Constructivist activities are incubators for the emergence of new food systems, while oppositional activities focus on the current food system. Constructivist efforts involve fostering and building different food systems for consumers, underpinned by democratic processes, for example farmer’s markets and community gardens. Actions underpinned by democratic principles, constitute a participatory movement whereby citizens exert some modicum of control over their food system. Collectively known as food democracy, it offers some hope in ‘re-making’ an honest food system.

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