Research & reports

Rúbio José Ferreira, Cláudio Jorge Moura de Castilho · Ateliê Geográfico · Brazil (Recife)

This text examines the place of urban agriculture and its practitioners in the urban planning process in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. The main results indicate that urban agriculture and urban farmers are not effectively considered by Recife's urban planning technicians. This may be due to urban agriculture being a social practice used by people from the "lowest layers" of society in a marginal area of the local urban economy.

Anita Evans, Nalini Ranjit, Deanna M. Hoelscher, Christine Jovanovic, Michael López, Andrew M. McIntosh, Marcia G. Ory, Lisa Whittlesey, Lisako McKyer, A. Kirk, Caitlin A. Smith, Catherine Walton, Natalia I. Heredia, Judith L. Warren · BMC Public Health · United States (Texas)

The Texas Grow! Eat! Go! (TGEG) study is a five-year factorial group randomized controlled trial involving 28 schools, assessing the impact of gardening, nutrition, and physical activity interventions on low-income elementary students. Baseline data from 1369 students and 1206 parents, primarily Hispanic and African American, showed that students did not meet national guidelines for vegetable consumption or physical activity. At baseline, no statistical differences were observed among the four treatment groups.

Mary Ellen Mitchell-Rosen · NSUWorks (Nova Southeastern University) · United States

This participatory action research study in Broward County, Florida, investigated the experiences of geriatric populations and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities participating in a garden project with health professions students. The project aimed to address obesity, autism, mental health, and elderly services by providing healthy nutrition interventions and group garden activities. Data collection via focus group interviews is complete, and analysis is ongoing, but stakeholders have reported positive changes in nutritional choices and improved mental status among clients.

Nancy F. Sonti, Lindsay K. Campbell, Michelle Johnson, Sarita Daftary-Steel · Journal of Experiential Education · United States (New York City)

Long-term impacts of an urban farming youth internship were evaluated in Brooklyn, New York. Alumni surveyed 1 to 9 years after program completion were enrolled in college or graduate school at higher rates than their peers and reported connections to the environment and healthy eating. Participants reported learning job skills through the internship, including farming practices, time and money management, teamwork, and public speaking.

Laisa Stefani da Silva Neves, Juliana Pereira Casemiro, Thalita Magdalena dos Santos, Cláudia Valéria Cardim da Silva · 12º Congresso Internacional da Rede Unida · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)

This qualitative study, conducted with Community Health Agents and a Residents' Association in a Rio de Janeiro metropolitan municipality, presents an experience of implementing a community garden as an urban agriculture strategy for promoting adequate and healthy food (PAAS). The area lacked markets for fruits and vegetables, making healthy eating difficult. Through home visits and discussions, the revitalization of a community garden was identified, enabling poor urban families to produce for self-consumption, strengthen community organization, and generate income.

Rashawn Ray, Dana R. Fisher, Carley Fisher-Maltese · Du Bois Review Social Science Research on Race · United States (Washington, DC)

This study analyzed quantitative data on fifth graders' math, reading, and science standardized test scores in Washington, D.C., to investigate how school gardens help close the achievement gap. It compared academic performance between students in traditional schools and garden-based learning schools, and examined whether the presence of a school garden reduces race and social class disparities in academic achievement. Findings showed that the presence of a school garden is associated with higher test scores in reading and science, and this association persisted even when controlling for students' race and class composition.

Joana Chan, Lisa Pennisi, Charles Francis · Journal of Ethnobiology · United States

This article explores the social-ecological functions of community gardening based on a case study conducted in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. Through semi-structured interviews with 20 community garden participants and staff, it was found that community gardening provides opportunities for participants to foster resilience to personal, cultural, and economic challenges resulting from urban migration. Participants were able to develop a sense of belonging and connection with cultural identity, social community, and the local environment.

Rob Moquin, Alan P. Diduck, A. John Sinclair, Iain J. Davidson‐Hunt · Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l alimentation · Canada

This research documented participants' experiences of community-building through community gardening in Kenora, Ontario, Canada, using Photovoice with twelve participants, follow-up interviews, and participant observation. Findings revealed a relational perspective of community gardening and the importance of sharing and learning, but also identified barriers to social capital and ecological citizenship. Future initiatives must address colonial and racial barriers to collaboration and ensure accessible garden locations.

Natalie McGill · ˜The œNation's health · United States

In 2016, in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States, where some residents lived in areas with limited access to grocery stores offering fresh produce, staff at DeKalb County Community Gardens initiated an effort to bring food directly to the people. This initiative aimed to improve residents' health.

Christie Elise Liebig · DigitalCommons - CalPoly (California State Polytechnic University) · United States (California)

This graduate internship involved developing a school and community garden at Joseph Kerr Middle School in California, United States. The garden provides hands-on learning for students, who harvest fresh produce and distribute it to families lacking access to fresh produce. Some produce was also donated to a local food bank, emphasizing the program's focus on teaching sustainable practices.

Daniel Orlins Trigg · ScholarWorks -A service of University of Vermont Libraries (University of Vermont) · United States

This study investigated food insecurity screening among clinicians in Vermont, where 76% of residents experience some level of food insecurity. It found that physicians and physician assistants prefer using an established two-item screen for food insecurity. However, these clinicians tend to underestimate the actual prevalence of food insecurity in their practice communities.

Matthew M. Mars · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Canada (Vancouver)

Michael Ableman's book "Street Farm" tells the story of how an urban farm transformed vacant lots in Vancouver, Canada's Low Tracks neighborhood into sites for food production, partial community restoration, and nurturing the human spirit. The narrative reveals a tenuous balance between the promises of urban farming and the harsh realities of addiction, hunger, homelessness, and violence often characterizing inner-city conditions. Urban agriculture is presented as a means to sustainably produce food for a city while also feeding the souls of disenfranchised individuals and communities.

Catherine Wong, Kathryn Geoffrion Scannell · University of New Hampshire Scholars Repository (University of New Hampshire at Manchester) · United States

McQuade Library partnered with a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation to become a distributor of local foods, providing fresh produce to Merrimack College and the surrounding community. The library collaborated with Farmer Dave’s CSA, recruiting over fifty members to facilitate weekly food drop-offs for twenty weeks. Unclaimed food shares were distributed to a nearby food pantry, senior center, and an emergency shelter, supporting sustainable agriculture and hunger relief efforts.

Patrizia Longo · Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia · United States (Lafayette, California)

This paper documents the history of Urban Farmers, a grassroots organization in Lafayette, California, that addresses poverty and sustainability through a community-development approach to food security. The organization's project focuses on localizing the food system and fostering community development.

Gabriel Rezende Marques, Maria Regina de Miranda Souza, Leo Rinaldo de Arantes Lazzerini, Cláudia Lúcia de Oliveira Pinto · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (Viçosa)

This study described and evaluated the implementation and adoption of an urban garden by socioeconomically vulnerable students residing in the Federal University of Viçosa dormitory in Viçosa, Brazil, and how the experience influenced their quality of life, civic education, perception, and interest in agroecology. It was found that the use of urban agriculture from an agroecological perspective is an alternative for improving the quality of life in residences and for expanding agroecological knowledge.

Ruth Cary · Reflections A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric · United States (Chester)

The Food Justice Portrait Project at Widener University involves first-year writing students creating portraits of community leaders engaged in food access and urban farming in Chester, PA. This collaborative community writing project aims for reciprocity, archiving biographies and institutional histories, and challenging the charity model of addressing community needs by supporting community agency.

Colin Cox, Jessica A. Hoffman, Mariya Shiyko, Catherine Wirth · Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · United States

A study in the United States evaluated the effect of text message reminders on farm share pickup rates among Head Start parents participating in a subsidized community supported agriculture program. While pickup rates were high for both text messaging and no text messaging groups, with 96% vs 92% within two days and 69% vs 62% on the day of delivery, no statistically significant differences were found between the groups. The study's ability to isolate the effects of text messages was limited because program coordinators used multiple methods to promote parent participation.

Nala Walla · · United States

A 2016 essay on the urban agriculture movement and race in the United States. It argues that urban gardens give people of color a way to reestablish agrarian skills without moving to rural areas, and states that much of the US urban agriculture movement is led by people of color. It also notes that in the UK, Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones founded the Young City Farmers program on a similar premise.

Thenral Mangadu, Michael P. Kelly, Max C. E. Orezzoli, Rebecca Gallegos, Pracheta Matharasi · Health Promotion International · United States

In the US–Mexico border region — El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces and Anthony, New Mexico, areas with high obesity rates — three pilot community gardens funded through the local Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) initiative were implemented by two local governmental organizations and one community-based organization (2016). A built environment marked by an arid desert climate, lack of access to healthy foods, barriers to physical activity, and cultural and community norms that deter healthy eating and sustainable food production contributes to obesity-related health disparities in these minority communities. A mixed-methods evaluation (n=223) examined the implementation process, immediate outcomes and best practices of implementing and sustaining the gardens. Beyond nutrition-related outcomes, potential psychosocial outcomes from participating in the community and school garden projects were observed. Best practices identified concerned (i) assessing community norms related to growing food, (ii) increasing access to land and water for community and school gardening, and (iii) enhancing social support for gardening.

Leila de Castro Louback Ferraz, E. R. de O. Carvalho, Mayara Márcia Sarsur Viana, Nathália Rabelo Pereira Oliveira · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil

A study of community gardens run by the municipal government of Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais, Brazil for nearly 33 years — cited as a reference example of urban agriculture in Brazil — found that more than 95 plant species are cultivated there, spanning food, condiment, ornamental and medicinal uses. This is described as contributing to improved quality of life for the population by securing food security with variety and quality, as well as playing a role in guaranteeing income in the urban setting.

Wende Marshall · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (New York City)

A book review of Kristin Reynolds and Nevin Cohen's Beyond the Kale, which analyzes the grassroots urban farming and gardening movement in New York City. The review frames the book's account, likening it to Antonio Gramsci's "war of position", as depicting urban gardening not merely as food growing but as a challenge to race- and class-based structures of oppression, oriented toward environmental justice and liberation.

Vera Institute of Justice · Vera Institute of Justice · United States

Published 21 September 2016. The Vera Institute of Justice reports its independent evaluation of ABLE, a programme for 16- to 18-year-olds at New York City's Rikers Island funded through the first US social impact bond. Using a quasi-experimental design comparing a 2013 cohort with people entering jail from 2006 to 2010 and with ineligible 19-year-olds, it tracked recidivism bed days over one year. The change in recidivism for eligible 16- to 18-year-olds was not statistically significant; the programme missed its pre-defined 10 per cent threshold and was discontinued on 31 August 2015.

Fakharzadeh S. · Children, Youth and Environments, 25(3) (Project MUSE) · United States

A qualitative study of Edible Schoolyard New Orleans drawing on interviews and observations to examine how the school-garden program affects children. It illustrates gains in students' food security, environmental knowledge and emotional and social well-being, mapping the intersection of gardens, education and community.

Rose Tardiff · Syracuse University Libraries (Syracuse University) · United States

The Salt City Harvest Farm (SCHF) in Kirkville, NY, is an all-volunteer project with limited capacity and concerns about long-term sustainability, despite providing benefits to New American participants. Research identified challenges and suggested organizational improvements, including clearly defining roles and integrating New Americans into decision-making. The study found that the SCHF would best suit participants' interests by remaining a place for growing their own food rather than transitioning to an incubator model.

Sarah A. Moore, Jeffrey R. Wilson, Sarah Kelly, Sallie A. Marston · Annals of the Association of American Geographers · United States (Tucson)

This article examines school gardens in two underresourced schools in poor neighborhoods of Tucson, Arizona, as sites for socioecological change. It argues that for some children, these gardens help overcome the alienating aspects of neoliberal school reform in the United States. The gardens foster connections with classmates, university students, plants, and animals, promoting sustainable and socially just practices.