Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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598 results(2 / 24)
Setting tables for community food sovereignty: Building a food sovereignty toolkit
2025William D. Schanbacher, Dhalia Bumbaca, Luciana Jones, Ana Vidal, Christiane Barros-Adwell, A. N. Olivieri, Jennifer Kue · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (Tampa, Florida)
This study reflects on the collaboration between a university and community partners in Tampa, Florida, to develop a community-based food sovereignty assessment and toolkit for two underserved, food-insecure communities. Using community-based research methods, the project explored how to develop and deploy the concept of food sovereignty in an urban environment, identified gaps in urban agriculture education, and ultimately led to the creation of a food sovereignty toolkit.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityFood educationWelfarePolicyEfectividad del Huerto Urbano: Un Enfoque para el Bienestar de los Adultos Mayores Urban Garden Effectiveness: An Approach to the Well-being of Older Adults
2025Marisol Silva-Vera, María de Jesús Jiménez González, Laura Varela Almanza · JÓVENES EN LA CIENCIA · Mexico
A quasi-experimental study in Mexico with 21 adults over 65 evaluated a community urban garden intervention for nutritional status. Participants showed increased nutrition knowledge, a 47.7% rise in vegetable intake, and a 23.8% increase in physical activity. However, anthropometric variables did not show significant differences, indicating limited impact on physical measurements despite positive changes in knowledge and habits.
Limited or null effectElderlyHealthFood educationCommunityThe Fight to End Food Insecurity Through Community Gardens and the Spaces They Create
2025Stonebraker, Richard · Maryland Shared Open Access Repository (USMAI Consortium) · United States (Maryland)
This study in a Maryland county, United States, explored the role of community gardens in addressing food insecurity, fostering social interactions, and providing education. Through interviews, sentence completion, and a focus group with 16 participants from two gardens, findings showed gardens offer fresh produce, a sense of belonging, collaboration, and cultural exchange. Participants emphasized the need for more food preservation education and broader inclusion within these dynamic spaces.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityFood educationAtuação da nutricionista frente ao diabetes e hipertensão na Atenção Primária: práticas na residência multiprofissional
2025Polyana Rocha Oliveira, Dejeane de Oliveira Silva, Melissa Neves Tavares · Health Residencies Journal - HRJ · Brazil
This study described a nutritionist's experiences in preventing and controlling Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Arterial Hypertension within a Family Health Strategy in Brazil, from April 2023 to May 2024. Interventions included health education, various consultations, the implementation of a "Health in Motion" group, and the creation of a community garden. The community garden strengthened bonds and promoted direct food education among residents.
CommunityHealthFood educationFrom Food Desert to Food Security: Implementing Change through the Augusta Dream Center
2025Marté Antione Gifford · Scholars Crossing (Liberty University) · United States (Augusta)
A project at the Augusta Dream Center (ADC) in Augusta, United States, aims to design and implement a community garden, supplemented by local farmer partnerships. This initiative seeks to address food insecurity in the Central Savannah River Area by providing fresh produce, fostering nutrition education, and promoting long-term health equity, particularly in low-income and minority communities facing food deserts and food swamps. The project will develop a community garden for seasonal crops and education, supported by local farmer partnerships and workshops.
CommunityFood educationHealthWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceEfectos de los Huertos Urbanos Escolares en la Educación Ambiental y la Nutrición Infantil: Un Estudio en Instituciones Públicas De Lima Metropolitana
2025María Fernanda Ríos Acuña, Rocío Elena Matos Chávez, Nicolás Manuel Herrera Robles, Carlos Enrique Quispe Vargas, Juliana Beatriz Torres Luján · Ibero Ciencias - Revista Científica y Académica - ISSN 3072-7197 · Peru (Lima)
This review article analyzed the effects of school urban gardens on environmental education and child nutrition in public institutions of Metropolitan Lima. Examining 25 national and international scientific studies using the PRISMA methodological approach, findings showed that school gardens strengthen ecological awareness and promote fruit and vegetable consumption. However, structural barriers such as lack of resources, teacher training, and sustained institutional support were also identified.
Governance failureFood educationHealthPolicyAgroecologia, Geografia e permacultura:
2025Luyanne Catarina Lourenço de Azevedo · Revista Brasileira de Educação em Geografia · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
The "Sidney Bueno School Garden Project," carried out at Municipal School São Paulo in Rio de Janeiro between 2022 and 2023, aimed to create a garden based on agroecology and permaculture principles. Integrating school geography concepts and curriculum content related to environment and sustainability, the project sought to develop an understanding of interactions between space, society, and nature. Student involvement promoted cartographic literacy and stimulated autonomy.
Food educationCommunityClimate changeOrganic cycleHORTA COMUNITÁRIA URBANA DE BASE POPULAR, AGROECOLÓGICA E SOLIDÁRIA
2025Paloma Ribeiro TARRÃO, D. Ferreira, Rita de Cássia Pereira de Pereira de Almeida · Revista ORG & DEMO · Brazil (São Paulo)
This article analyzed the implementation of the Gera Juncal community garden in São Mateus, São Paulo, between October 2021 and September 2022, using participatory action research and a case study approach. The findings indicated the adequacy of "School" Time and Community Time relationships, learning agroecology and solidarity economy principles, and the effectiveness of these practices in food production. It also showed changes in individual and group conduct, trainer training, and fostered public policy development for food sovereignty.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceOrganic cycleFood educationVIVÊNCIAS E ATIVIDADES DE EDUCAÇÃO EM SAÚDE EM HORTA COMUNITÁRIA: RELATO DE EXPERIÊNCIA
2025Mateus Andrade Rocha Vitório, Victor Guilherme Pereira da Silva Marques, Rivanna Sousa Moura, Sarah Lays Campos da Silva, Fernanda Raquel Andrade da Silva Dos Santos, Diego Rodrigues de Sousa, Sabrina Amorim Paulo, Michelle Vicente Torres · Revista Multidisciplinar do Nordeste Mineiro · Brazil (Teresina)
This qualitative experience report describes the "Hortiviva" project, conducted from April to December 2024, by residents of the Family Health Residency Program at the State University of Piauí, Brazil. The project involved 15 to 30 family horticulturists in a community garden in northern Teresina, focusing on health education through monthly meetings and active methodologies. Results showed the community garden became a therapeutic space for socialization, income generation, and well-being, strengthening ties between professionals and the community.
CommunityHealthFood educationWelfareEducação ambiental e Extensão popular como movimentos para a construção da primeira horta comunitária de Araranguá-SC
2025Eduardo Fernandes Martinello, Wanderley de Jesus Souza, José Virtuoso · REMEA - Revista Eletrônica do Mestrado em Educação Ambiental · Brazil
This article presents a successful experience in Araranguá, Santa Catarina, Brazil, where environmental education and popular extension movements facilitated the conversion of an underutilized urban space into a community garden. The garden produces food for people experiencing food vulnerability, and the experience demonstrated community engagement and knowledge construction by learners.
CommunityFood educationWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceEntre saberes e práticas: reflexões sobre vivências na EJA
2025Andrade, Roseleide Dantas · A Revista Agroambiente On-line (Universidade Federal de Roraima, UFRR) · Brazil (Fortaleza)
This experience report reflects on visits to the EMEIEF Paulo Sarasate School in Fortaleza, Brazil, as part of the Youth and Adult Education (EJA) discipline at the State University of Ceará. Observations included a community garden and projects like an antiracist initiative and the Florescer Project for women. Discussions with pedagogical coordination highlighted challenges such as dropout and resource scarcity, but also recognized EJA's role in inclusion, self-esteem, and social transformation.
CommunityFood educationWelfareDesign and methods of a community supported agriculture program with native Americans: the go healthy study
2025Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan, Tori Taniguchi, Kaylee R Clyma, Kristina Gabriel, Jessica Reese, Ying Zhang, Susan B. Sisson, Tara L. Maudrie, Jann Hayman · AJE Advances Research in Epidemiology · United States
The Go Healthy Study is a community-based participatory research study designing a 16-week randomized, wait-list controlled trial for approximately 400 Native American adults in the Osage Nation with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. The intervention includes weekly produce boxes, a healthy eating and traditional foods curriculum, cooking demonstration videos, and a kitchen starter kit. Primary outcomes are to improve systolic blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and to increase fruit and vegetable intake.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityHealthFood educationExperiência com a alteridade como educação étnico-racial e ambiental: multiplicar naturezas na escola
2025Natália Abdul Khalek Mendonça · Revista Brasileira de Educação Ambiental (RevBEA) · South America
This article explores the potential of a school garden where students engaged with the indigenous concept of Tekoha, focusing on ethnic-racial and environmental education. It analyzes how experiences with alterity, activated by an encounter with Guarani-Kaiowa culture, contribute to initiating "ecological paths" and fostering an understanding of Earth as a participant, not merely a scenario for human actions. Pedagogical practices aimed to challenge stereotypes about indigenous people and cultivate skills in care and diversity.
Food educationCommunity"¿Puedo dibujarme en el mapa?" : Los niños, el huerto y las geografías con la vida
2025Paim, Vitória Angela, Theves, Denise Wildner · Lume (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul) · Brazil
This study presents a proposal where elementary school children in Canoas, Brazil, were invited to create a collective experiential map of a community garden space after visiting it. Through an ethnographic study, the activity mobilized children's experiences and authorship, confirming that children's spatiality transcends the classroom and gives multiple meanings to geographical knowledge. The collective map construction demonstrates that children translate their spatial experiences into the constitution of their geographical plenitude.
CommunityFood education“The farm in the city”: A community garden and engagement in a vulnerable neighborhood
2025Ana Luiza Snoeck Neiva do Amaral, Regina Yoshie Matsue, Luciana Yuki Tomita · Ambiente & sociedade · Brazil (São Paulo)
This 2025 case study analyzed a community garden in Heliópolis, São Paulo, Brazil, established via crowdfunding. The garden improved nutrition, contributed to household budgets, and expanded vegetable variety for participants. It also served as a space for socialization, memory reclamation, activities for older adults, and connecting children with food cultivation.
CommunityHealthWelfareFood educationDIÁLOGOS DO SABER: A CO-CONSTRUÇÃO DE CONHECIMENTO ENTRE UNIVERSIDADE E AGRICULTURA FAMILIAR NA HORTA COMUNITÁRIA POVO UNIDO, JUAZEIRO/BA
2025Rita Regina Marques Costa, Denes Dantas Vieira, Vivianni Marques Leite dos Santos, Deise Cristiane do Nascimento · · Brazil (Juazeiro)
This qualitative and quantitative field study analyzed the interaction between university extension and community-based family agriculture at the Povo Unido Community Garden in Juazeiro, Brazil. Conducted between March and May 2025, the research involved semi-structured questionnaires and dialogues with 47 farming families to understand their perceptions of knowledge exchange and interaction with educational institutions. Results showed consensus on the importance of university extension, but farmers pointed out challenges such as limited time for discussion and effective inclusion of participants with lower educational attainment.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood educationPolicyWelfareBusca por interlocuções entre Educação Ambiental e Agricultura Urbana
2025Paolo Martins, Rafael Nogueira Costa, Stephanie Di Chiara Salgado, Daniel Vieira Nunes, Celso Sánchez · Revista Sergipana de Educação Ambiental · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
This article presents a photographic narrative from research conducted with a network of farmers in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region, Brazil. It highlights photography as a methodological pillar for understanding and communicating educational processes linked to social and environmental struggles. The study suggests a need to rethink environmental education's foundations and expand dialogue with marginalized communities to address socio-environmental complexity.
Food educationCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceThe Landscape of Maine’s Urban Environmental Programming
2025Gallagher, Daisy · · United States (Maine)
This project explores how community-based urban environmental programming instills loyalty, care, and reciprocity for the environment in participants. It focuses on place-based opportunities like urban agriculture and community gardening as a means for urban residents to connect with nature. The study aims to address the gap in environmental programming within urban environments, particularly in the continental United States.
CommunityFood educationUrban–rural linkageHow do urban agriculture initiatives communicate on farming across society? An exploration of awareness, responsibility, and pride messages on social media
2025İlkay Unay‐Gailhard, Robert J. Chaskin, Mark A. Brennan · Agriculture and Human Values · United States
This study explored how urban agriculture initiatives communicate about farming by analyzing social media messages related to awareness, responsibility, and pride. Based on 28 interviews with professionals and data from four Instagram accounts in Pennsylvania and Illinois, the research found that urban agriculture dialogues encourage discussions on healthy eating and critical assessment of industrial agriculture. Instagram messages frequently emphasize responsibility and pride, but rarely address the economic aspects of farming.
CommunityFood educationDigital agricultureMODULAR SCHOOL GARDEN: A PROPOSAL FOR DEVELOPING GARDENS IN SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS WITH POTENTIAL FOR REPLICATION IN OTHER SPACES
2025Sirlei Rodrigues do Nascimento, Oduvaldo Vendrametto, Luiz Lima, Luigi Pavarini de Lima · Seven Editora eBooks · Brazil (São Paulo)
This exploratory action-research study adopted a methodology to assess the feasibility of implementing modular school gardens in Ribeirão Pires, SP, Brazil, involving the active participation of students, teachers, and the local community. Feedback from thirteen participating students indicated an increase in knowledge about sustainable practices and cultivation techniques. The results suggest that modular gardens facilitate practical knowledge about food production and demonstrate potential for replication in other educational contexts, emphasizing the importance of integrating them as a pedagogical strategy.
Food educationCommunityPolicyHealthPresentation 1_Growing kalo (taro) to promote culture and health in the Continental US.pdf
2025Leialoha Ka’ula (22407355), Nicole lee Kamakahiolani Ellison (22407358), Constance James (22407361), Ashley Oshiro (22407364), Kacyn Ideue (22407367), Kahoku Ka’ula (22407370), Alexandra Malia Jackson (12343792) · Figshare · United States
To explore the potential benefits of "māla kalo" (community gardens growing taro) in a continental US community, a survey and interviews were conducted with 12 participants and 5 program leaders, aged 18 to 75 years, at the end of the 2023 growing season. Findings indicated high levels of satisfaction and an interest in more frequent participation. Qualitative data suggested that volunteering at the māla kalo may support connections to self, community, and land, facilitate learning and sharing of knowledge, and foster cultural connections.
CommunityHealthFood educationFlujo de saberes y construcción de comunidades de aprendizaje en huertos urbanos: Un laboratorio de innovación socioecológica en Xalapa-Enríquez, Veracruz
2025Juan Camilo Fontalvo-Buelvas, María Teresa Pulido Silva, Miguel Ángel Escalona Aguilar · Ediciones Comunicación Científica eBooks · Mexico (Xalapa-Enríquez, Veracruz)
This ethnographic study in Xalapa-Enríquez, Veracruz, Mexico, examined the flow of knowledge and the formation of learning communities around 20 urban gardens using in-depth interviews. Findings indicate that knowledge originates from multiple sources, is hybridized through practice, and then mobilized among social actors who provide feedback and re-signify it within learning and practice communities. This process fosters citizen networks and collective action in a medium-sized city.
CommunityFood educationClimate changeErvaterapia: oficinas de sabonetes artesanais com propriedades medicinais
2025Tatiane Sueli Coutinho · Revista Ciência em Extensão · Brazil
The Ervaterapia project conducted 14 workshops (10 at IFC, 4 with CRAS) in Brazil, focusing on producing handmade soaps with medicinal herbs from a community garden. These 3-hour workshops aimed to raise awareness about medicinal herbs as a health promotion alternative to allopathic medicines and to foster an alternative income source through natural soap sales. The project successfully brought the community and the educational institution closer, promoting regional social and economic development.
CommunityFood educationHealthEconomicsArborização urbana, corredores ecológicos e agricultura urbana em áreas públicas, projeto Santo Antônio da Patrulha, RS
2025Marcelo Silveira Badejo, Calebe de Hebrom Livistom da Silva, Joana Josiane Andriotte Oliveira Lima Nyland, Afonso Henrique da Silva Júnior, Juliano da Rosa Justim, Cassiano Ranzan · OBSERVATÓRIO DE LA ECONOMÍA LATINOAMERICANA · Brazil
In Santo Antônio da Patrulha, Brazil, a tree inventory was conducted in the Cidade Alta and Centro neighborhoods to support an urban afforestation project. The survey revealed a lack of trees in 5 out of 41 streets in Cidade Alta and 2 out of 28 streets in Centro, with high rates of unidentified trees (53% and 12% respectively). Furthermore, pedagogical practices tested in schools and universities raised challenges regarding the management of flowerbeds in urban areas.
Governance failureCommunityFood educationBiodiversityAssessing the Gap Between Intention and Implementation in Seed Lending Libraries
2025Hilary Jasmin · Evidence Based Library and Information Practice · United States and Canada
This study surveyed 58 academic and public libraries in the United States and Canada regarding their seed lending programs' goals and marketing, using an online survey. While some libraries stated intentions related to food justice and activism, their marketing and programming primarily focused on neutral gardening and how-to classes. The findings reveal a gap between the initial, less neutral intentions and the more neutral, less activist programming language used for seed libraries.
Governance failureCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceFood education