scholarly journals COMMUNITY GARDENING DURING TIMES OF CRISIS: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COMMUNITY-ENGAGED DIALOGUE, RESEARCH, AND PRAXIS

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angie Mejia ◽  
Manami Bhattacharya ◽  
Amanda Nigon-Crowley ◽  
Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick ◽  
Chandi Katoch
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Community Garden ◽  
Community Gardening

Using ongoing reflections from our recent work as members of a community gardening initiative, we outline relevant priorities for researchers, policymakers, and community practitioners to examine the role of community gardens in addressing the effects of COVID-19 on the lives of intersectionally-diverse growers. To understand how COVID-19 has influenced the practices of community-led urban agricultural spaces, we suggest future efforts take into consideration three essential areas of focus: uses of community gardening in combating food insecurity during a pandemic, changes in community garden operations as a response to crises, and community gardening's role in nurturing emotional well-being.

scholarly journals Impact of community gardening on lifestyles' sustainability: quantitative & qualitative evaluation of a natural experiment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Tharrey ◽  
Ashby Sachs ◽  
Marlène Perignon ◽  
Chantal Simon ◽  
Caroline Mejean ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Health ◽  
Lower Percentage ◽  
Independent Effect ◽  
First Year ◽  
Community Garden ◽  
Community Gardening ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background: Despite the increasing number of studies on gardening and health, evidence of health benefits of community gardening is limited by cross-sectional design. The “JArDinS” quasi-experimental study aimed to assess the impact of community garden participation on the adoption of more sustainable lifestyles in French adults. Methods: Individuals starting gardening in community gardens in Montpellier (France) in 2018 (N=66) were compared to pairwise matched individuals with no experience in community gardening (N=66). Monthly household food supplies, physical activity measured by accelerometers and questionnaires on physical, mental and social well-being, sensitivity to food waste, and connection with nature were used to explore sustainability of lifestyles in social/health, environmental and economic dimensions. Data were collected at baseline (t0) and 12 months later (t1). Linear mixed models were used to determine the independent effect of community gardening on investigated lifestyles components. In-depth interviews were conducted at t1 with 15 gardeners to better understand changes that may have occurred in gardeners’ lives during the first year of gardening.Results: At t0, gardeners had lower education level, lower BMI and reported lower percentage of meals consumed outside of the home in total household meals compared to non-gardeners (p<0.05). At t1, the mean weight of fruit and vegetables harvested from the garden was 19.5g/d/p. Participating in the community garden had no significant impact on any of the social/health, environmental and economic lifestyle components investigated. Qualitative interviews suggested the existence of pre-established health and environmental consciousness in some gardeners and revealed several barriers to the participation such as lack of time, lack of gardening knowledge, difficulty of gardening, health problems and conflicts with other gardeners. Conclusions: Using a longitudinal design allowing causality assessment, no impact was observed of the first year of community gardening on lifestyle sustainability. The pre-established sensitivity to sustainability and the various barriers encountered by new gardeners might explain the absence of community gardening impact. Further rigorous longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether or not community gardening is a relevant public health tool.Trial registration: The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03694782. Date of registration: 3rd October 2018, retrospectively registered.

Community Gardening as a Way to Build Cross-Cultural Community Resilience through Increased Fresh-Food Access and Citizenship: A Community-based Participatory Research Proposal (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angie Mejia
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Participatory Research ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Health Inequities ◽  
Community Garden ◽  
Community Gardening ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Connected Set ◽  
Psychosocial Benefits

UNSTRUCTURED Community-based agriculture has been found to decrease food insecurity and ameliorate population health inequities. Furthermore, community gardens have been found to provide a connected set of benefits to intersectionally diverse gardeners: a sense of ownership, resources to help integration within new communities, and a space to nurture existing cultural identities. This sense of belonging in connection with access to community garden plots has been linked to psychological well-being and resilience. However, there is little knowledge on how psychosocial benefits connected to plot ownership affect resilience and which aspects of resilience in this process are salient. This community-based participatory research projects will examine the role of community gardens in decreasing food insecurity and facilitating various forms of resilience in various food-insecure groups of people residing in Rochester. Since psychosocial benefits provided by community garden participation nurtures various forms of resilience along individual, group and community dimensions, our research inquiry seeks to understand how dimensions of resilience vary along intersectional lines. In addition to mapping the psychosocial benefits linked to community garden plot ownership, we find that examining which forms of resilience are possible in community-based agricultural projects addresses an important gap in the academic literature, which can help us propose policy-level practices that reduce various forms of health inequities connected to food and nutrition at the local level. Using a mixed-methods approach, we will examine the experiences of two food insecure communities in Rochester: current and new growers with VCGLC plots, and individuals who currently supplement their vegetable and fruit intake via their use of community food pantries Data collected will help us accomplish two things: 1. We will examine and use CBPR methods to disseminate information on the organizational practices by The Village to assist others in planning and implementing similar community-based agricultural projects in their communities. 2. Findings will give us preliminary data to implement a larger intervention that foregrounds community-based agricultural initiatives as a model to improve physical and mental health outcomes in food-insecure communities.

scholarly journals Participation in community gardening: Sowing the seeds of well-being

2021 ◽  
pp. 000841742199438
Author(s):  
Melinda J. Suto ◽  
Shelagh Smith ◽  
Natasha Damiano ◽  
Shurli Channe
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Supported Housing ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Community Gardening ◽  
Mental Health Issues

Background. Sustaining well-being challenges people with serious mental health issues. Community gardening is an occupation used to promote clients’ well-being, yet there is limited evidence to support this intervention. Purpose. This paper examines how facilitated community gardening programs changed the subjective well-being and social connectedness of people living with mental health issues. Method. A community-based participatory research approach and qualitative methods were used with 23 adults living in supported housing and participating in supported community gardening programs. A constructivist approach guided inductive data analysis. Findings. Participation in community gardening programs enhanced well-being through welcoming places, a sense of belonging, and developing positive feelings through doing. The connection to living things and responsibility for plants grounded participants in the present and offered a unique venue for learning about gardening and themselves. Implications. Practitioners and service-users should collaborate to develop leadership, programs, places, and processes within community gardens to enhance well-being.

scholarly journals A community-based participatory research approach to understanding social eating for food well-being

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Nadina R Luca ◽  
Marsha Smith ◽  
Sally Hibbert
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Food Service ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Social Eating ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Food Charity

‘Social eating initiatives’ are a specific type of community-based food service that provides opportunities for people to eat together in local spaces using surplus food. These initiatives provide a meal that is fresh, affordable and more environmentally friendly than fast or convenience foods. In this research, we build upon the food well-being model to explore how food consumption is experienced in these community settings and the role of social eating projects in shaping the different dimensions of people’s foodscapes. We adopted a community-based participatory approach and engaged in a series of dialogues with staff volunteers and coordinators at four ‘social eating initiatives’. We also conducted 45 interviews with service users and volunteers at three sites in the Midlands region.   The role of community-based food initiatives responding to hunger by utilising surplus food to feed local populations is often conceptualised critically. The conjoining of food insecurity and surplus food appears to instrumentally feed customers and reduce food wastage, but in ways that are stigmatising, and which position customers as passive recipients of food charity. However, closer attention to the experiences of staff, volunteers and customers at these spaces, reveals them as sites where knowledge and experience of food is being developed with this contributing to a sense of well-being beyond nutrition. Shared food practices and eating together contribute to social capital and are important dimensions of food well-being that are significantly restricted by food insecurity. The ‘food well-being’ model envisages a shift in focus from health, defined as the absence of illness, towards well-being as a positive relationship with food at the individual and societal level. In the concluding remarks of this article, it is suggested that this holistic conception is required to understand the role and function of social eating initiatives.

scholarly journals Impact of community gardens on the sustainability of lifestyles: baseline data of the JArDinS study

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Tharrey ◽  
M Perignon ◽  
P Scheromm ◽  
C Mejean ◽  
N Darmon
Keyword(s):  
Food Supply ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Social Health ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Community Garden ◽  
Community Gardening ◽  
Sustainable Lifestyles ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Introduction Despite growing evidence for the multiple health benefits of community gardening, longitudinal studies based on quantitative data are needed. JArDinS is a quasi-experimental study aimed at assessing the impact of community garden participation in the adoption of more sustainable lifestyles. Materials and Methods Gardeners starting gardening in a community garden in Montpellier (France) were recruited in 2018. Volunteers with no experience in community gardening and matched for age range, gender, household income and household composition were recruited in a control group. A recruitment goal of 80 participants per group was determined to detect a 30% increase in F&V supply in the gardeners group. Participant were issued with three tools: a Food Supply Dairy to collect data on monthly household’s food supply, a triaxial accelerometer to measure physical activity and an online questionnaire on mental and social health, sensitivity to food waste, and connection with nature. Measures have been collected at baseline and will be repeated 12 months later. Data collected are examined conjointly to assess the sustainability of lifestyles in its social/health, environmental and economic dimensions. Change of outcomes after 1 year will be compared between the natural experiment and the control groups, to evaluate the effect of access to a community garden on the sustainability of lifestyles. Results A final number of 77 participants per group were enrolled at baseline, which is 4% less the original recruitment goal. Baseline data for the natural experiment group and the control group are currently being analysed and will be presented. Discussion This study will provide valuable information about the potential of community gardens to favor sustainable lifestyles, based on a robust quasi-experimental design allowing causality evaluation. Findings could help developing policies toward more sustainable urban planning favoring both human and environmental health. Key messages For the first time, the JArDinS study will allow testing, the impact of community gardens on the sustainability of lifestyles. Results will help orient urban planning decisions towards healthier options.

Growing Gardens Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities Facing the Strategic Expansion of Anchorage, Alaska’s Community Garden System

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Shannon Donovan
Keyword(s):  
Food System ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Community Garden ◽  
Community Gardening ◽  
Parks And Recreation ◽  
Local Food System ◽  
Outreach Programs ◽  
Strategic Model ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

Anchorage’s community gardening program is administered by the Municipality of Anchorage Parks and Recreation program and part of their mission is to provide “a food system where locally produced, affordable, and nutritious food is available to all”. The demand for access to community gardens far outweighs the supply raising the question, how can the city of Anchorage strategically and sustainably expand their community garden system? To explore this question, the Municipality of Anchorage partnered with the University of Alaska Anchorage to better understand how expanding community gardens can bridge a gap in the local food system and increase access to fresh foods by the city’s most vulnerable and diverse individuals. To do this, we developed a multi-faceted needs assessment that included a community survey, stakeholder workshop, and key informant interviews. This paper explores the opportunities and challenges of expanding Anchorage’s community gardens and offers expansion strategies that balance the needs of the community’s diverse populations with the city’s community gardening mission. The findings of this study show that to sustainably meet the needs of diverse audiences, community garden expansion efforts should focus on 1) making new gardens accessible by identifying safe, convenient, and functional locations; 2) building gardener capacity through education and outreach programs; and 3) strengthening partnerships with other community organizations to share resources and capabilities. The methods used and the associated findings revealed through this study can be adapted and applied in other cities looking to develop a sustainable and strategic model for community gardening.

scholarly journals Growing the community – a case study of community gardens in Lincoln's Abbey Ward

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 530-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Natural Capital ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Exceptional Case ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Community Gardening ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Bridging Social Capital ◽  
Relationship Of

AbstractCommunity gardens, as previous research has found are as much about growing the community and the individuals involved, as gardening itself. The study of Green Synergy's community garden initiatives within Lincoln's relatively deprived Abbey Ward provided an exceptional case study in which to review the inter-relationship of impact both at a community and individual level. The social element of community gardening in building connections between social and natural capital is explored, and how community gardens can provide a ‘counter-narrative’ to perceptions of place and individual well-being.The qualitative research approach which included observation, interviews, a focus group and workshop was designed to reflect the wide scope of the projects and generate both individual and communal reflection on the projects. The themes that emerged open up a further understanding of the multiple dynamics arising from the collaborative creation of ‘green spaces’ in providing bonding and bridging social capital within communities, together with challenging narratives of individual and community capacity. In so doing, it adds to existing research evidence on the diverse community connections, spaces and products that community gardening engenders.

scholarly journals Evidence on the contribution of community gardens to promote physical and mental health and well-being of non-institutionalized individuals: A systematic review

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0255621
Author(s):  
Tarsila Lampert ◽  
Joana Costa ◽  
Osvaldo Santos ◽  
Joana Sousa ◽  
Teresa Ribeiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Community Gardening ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Health Gains ◽  
Health And Well Being

Introduction There has been growing interest in community gardens as an effective and affordable health promotion strategy. However, most available evidence is derived from qualitative studies, whereas quantitative research on this subject is limited. Objectives To synthetize the literature about physical and mental health outcomes associated with community gardening. Two main questions were addressed: a) is there evidence, from quantitative studies, that community gardening is associated to physical and mental health and well-being of non-institutionalized individuals? b) Does community gardening provokes any discomfort in terms of physical health, i.e., bodily pain, to their beneficiaries? Methods A systematic review of the literature was carried out following PRISMA guidelines by searching relevant electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science). Empirical, quantitative studies published in English with no restrictions concerning the date of publication were considered eligible. The quality of the evidence was appraised using the tool developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. Results Overall, 8 studies were considered eligible, of which seven studies were rated as having good methodological quality (one scored as fair). Community gardeners had significantly better health outcomes than their neighbours not engaged in gardening activities in terms of life satisfaction, happiness, general health, mental health, and social cohesion. Conclusion Community gardens are associated to health gains for their users, irrespective of age, being an affordable and efficient way of promoting physical and mental health and well-being. To encourage the design, maintenance, and prospective evaluation of supportive urban environments promoting healthy and, at the same time, sustainable lifestyles, is essential to achieve public health gains and environmental sustainability.

Urban agriculture in times of crisis: the role of home food growing in perceived food insecurity and well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Appetite ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 105508
Author(s):  
Bethan R. Mead ◽  
Jess A.C. Davies ◽  
Natalia Falagán ◽  
Sofia Kourmpetli ◽  
Lingxuan Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Home Food

scholarly journals The trouble with temporary: Impacts and pitfalls of a meanwhile community garden in Wythenshawe, South Manchester

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 548-557
Author(s):  
Rebecca St. Clair ◽  
Michael Hardman ◽  
Richard P. Armitage ◽  
Graeme Sherriff
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Fresh Fruit ◽  
Fruit And Vegetables ◽  
Community Garden ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Small Community ◽  
Community Gardening ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe rise of Urban Agriculture projects across the UK has led to a surge of interest in their efficacy and resulting social impacts. Real Food Wythenshawe is a Lottery-funded urban food project in the UK that aims to teach the population of Wythenshawe to grow their own food and to cook from scratch. The area, popularly referred to as ‘Europe's largest council estate’, suffers from high levels of deprivation and has been described as a ‘food desert’ due to a perceived lack of access to fresh fruit and vegetables (Small World Consulting, 2013). In order to encourage Wythenshawe residents to grow their own food and to increase access to fresh fruit and vegetables, Real Food Wythenshawe aims to transform unused areas of land into growing spaces, such as allotments and community gardens. This paper focuses on research conducted at a community garden in Wythenshawe, established by Real Food Wythenshawe as an example of a ‘meanwhile’ or temporary growing site for people affected by cancer. The research investigated the impact of the growing activities on community garden participants through a series of observations and interviews. The findings suggest that the benefits of the space were multiple and diverse, ranging from increased growing knowledge to therapeutic effects, while there has been minimal effect on participants’ dietary behavior. The organization of the community garden also raises questions over some of the practicalities of temporary urban growing sites and highlights the tensions that can arise between small community growing groups and larger institutions with control over land use. These findings add to a growing body of research that considers the value of growing in the city and reflects on the role of community gardening in deprived urban areas of the UK.

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