Assessing the Economic Contributions and Benefits of Consumer Horticulture

Urban Farm DB summary

This study discusses the difficulty in documenting the economic contributions and benefits of consumer horticulture (CH) and CH extension programs. CH can result in individual outcomes such as money saved and improved quality of life, and community-level impacts like water quality protection. Quantifying these values is challenging but can be evaluated using several strategies, including measuring consumer dollars spent on gardening supplies, the value of environmental ecosystem services, and cultural, social, and health system services.