Research & reports

Enaira Liany Bezerra dos Santos, Maria Betânia Ribeiro Torres, Rodrigo Guimarães de Carvalho, Mayra Alves Pinheiro · International Journal Semiarid · Brazil (Mossoró)

This study analyzed the potential for food cultivation in public squares in Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Researchers mapped 42 public squares, measured free areas via satellite imagery and on-site visits, and projected productive potential based on a model garden. Findings showed 16 squares have potential for gardens, with a total free area of 4,898.00 m², cultivable area of 2,742.82 m², and a productive potential of 31.93 tons of food per year.

Malone M., Johnson B., Richard SI., Garcia N., Hamlin S. · Journal of Environmental Management · United States (Seattle)

Compares heavy-metal concentrations in vegetables grown in urban community gardens in the Seattle metropolitan area with produce from the grocery stores participants regularly used — a question set by the partnering farmers themselves. Metal concentrations frequently exceeded health guidelines in both, but were generally higher in the community-garden produce. Cadmium and lead posed the greatest risk and may exacerbate health risks for some populations.

AltTech LLC & Subsidiaries, The People's Coalition of Planet Earth · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · United States

This paper presents Project Ubuntu's "Big Green Web," a proposed nationwide U.S. framework of interconnected, renewable-energy-powered community-governed food forests intended to provide free, open-access food production for communities of color, drawing on principles of food sovereignty, environmental justice and mutual aid; the paper examines the framework's theoretical foundations and operational structure as a proposed model rather than reporting outcomes from an implemented program.

Roberto Arturo Berríos Zepeda, Jorge Vírchez · OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development · Canada

A 2026 article examines the city of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, as a case of sustainable transformative economy at the municipal level. Historically defined by intensive mining and severe ecological degradation, the city has pursued environmental restoration and socio-economic change through combined efforts of local government, industry, universities, nonprofit organizations, and grassroots initiatives. It describes examples including the Junction Creek Stewardship Committee, Earth Care Sudbury, the Good Food Box, and the Sudbury Community Garden Network, and how civic participation and inter-institutional collaboration have reoriented local development toward ecological stewardship, food security, and social equity.

Justine Lindemann, Natalia Alvial, Theodore R. Alter · Agriculture and Human Values · United States

Framed within studies of racial capitalism and neoliberal corporate food regimes, this article examines how residents of Pennsylvania's Monongahela (Mon) Valley experience and articulate food apartheid — a racialized system of food access — and how it intersects with deindustrialization, capital abandonment, and structural racism. Drawing on engagements across three Mon Valley municipalities, the findings reveal complex geographies of food apartheid intersecting with other markers of racial capitalism: inequitable transportation infrastructure, rising cost of living alongside declining quality of life, and ineffective political representation. Residents interpret these inequities as part of a broader racialized economic injustice favoring neighboring, predominantly white municipalities, compounded by distrust of local government perceived as perpetuating exclusionary policies rather than responding to community demands. In this context, participants envision community-driven solutions that extend beyond food system and urban agriculture initiatives.

Justina Walker-Mohamed, Stephanie Johnston, Silvia Sarapura, Charlotte Potter, Tristan Cook, Paul Benalcazer, Red Rock Indian Band, Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg, Biinjitiwaabik Zaagging Anishinaabek, Niigaaniin (Mamaweswen) · Rural Review Ontario Rural Planning Development and Policy · Canada

This poster presentation describes knowledge translation and transfer (KTT) practices in the Braiding Food Systems (BFS) project, a community-based agri-food research initiative with First Nations in Canada spanning community gardens, seed lodges and youth engagement. The approach centers relationships, mutual and reciprocal learning and sharing, and equal value for diverse forms of knowledge, co-developing place-based KTT strategies and materials, and is intended to open a conversation on community engagement and participation in KTT for Indigenous agri-food and rural research. No specific outcomes or measured results are reported.

Jackson Borges de Carvalho, Murilo Couto Lacerda, Linia Dayana Lopes Machado, Rejaine Silva Guimarães · Contribuciones a las Ciencias Sociales · Brazil

A documentary literature study examined urban agriculture in Gurupi, Tocantins, Brazil, where 288 productive units exist despite the municipal master plan and local legislation not explicitly addressing the practice, focusing on the need for municipal regulation. Drawing on federal, state, and municipal legislation, academic studies, territorial diagnostics, and empirical survey data from Primo et al. (2014), the study found that urban agriculture holds socio-environmental, food, and community relevance but faces a lack of technical assistance, legal insecurity, and scarce institutional support.

Mya O. Price · · United States (Appalachia)

This chapter examines how community-supported agriculture (CSA) empowers Black farmers through innovations and community partnerships in Appalachia and nearby regions of the United States (2026). It traces CSA's roots to Booker T. Whatley's 1960s clientele membership clubs, explaining how shares, upfront payments and risk-sharing stabilize farm income while improving local access to fresh food. Case studies include Swanson Family Farm's buyer's club near Atlanta, Southside Community Farm's BIPOC-centered urban model in Asheville, and Cleav's Family Market's traditional Kentucky CSA. The chapter also addresses persistent barriers — limited resources, systemic discrimination and land access — and highlights the support networks and policy impacts shaping CSA success for Black-led food equity efforts.

Esteve Gaelle Giraud, Elora Bevacqua, Madeline Mercer, Nicholas Benard, Priya Nayak, Tawsha Trahan, Kathleen Merrigan · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

This paper documents an early-stage Participatory Action Research (PAR) process to scale up urban agriculture in Tempe, Arizona, an arid, land-constrained city where four contiguous neighborhoods face high food insecurity and vulnerability. A transdisciplinary team of researchers, city staff and community-based organizations collaborated with residents to assess the state of urban agriculture, identify local priorities, and co-develop ten policy recommendations, through 86 food access surveys, mapping, practitioner interviews in Tempe and six other cities, and community workshops. Residents emphasized the need for urban agriculture spaces supporting food production, education, workforce development and community building, while limited funding, volunteer instability and poor communication of existing resources were identified as key barriers. Despite water scarcity and land pressures, the study argues that water-smart, strategically located urban agriculture can serve as resilience infrastructure addressing civic, environmental and social goals, and that participatory planning supported by trusted intermediaries can shape agendas before formal food policy structures exist, offering insights for other cities pursuing participatory food planning.

Thomas Anthony Pacheco · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · United States

This is a non-peer-reviewed, pedagogical guide, not an empirical study, that uses food insecurity and food deserts in Los Angeles County as a case study to translate sociological theories -- including Resource Mobilization Theory, Framing Theory, Legal Consciousness Theory, Collective Action Frames, and Political Process Theory -- into organizing strategies for activists and students. It sets out practical steps for securing funding, recruiting volunteers, framing injustice, engaging policymakers, and building interventions such as community gardens.

Marcelo Budal Cabral, Alysson Maia Fontenele · Revista JurisFIB · Brazil

This legal article examines the significance of urban agriculture for greening cities and for greenhouse gas mitigation and climate adaptation in Brazil. Using bibliographic and documentary research with a hermeneutic approach, it analyzes precedents including the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' Advisory Opinion 32/2025 (climate emergency) and the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court's Arguição de Descumprimento de Preceito Fundamental 708 (Climate Fund case), alongside the national Urban and Periurban Agriculture Policy and other normative texts. It concludes that ecological and climate protection duties, reinforced by these court precedents, require implementing and fostering urban agriculture in order to realize the right to a healthy climate.

G. Bastian, Sarah Lane, Haley McMahon, Olivia Husmann, Evangeline Schumacher · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

One in eight South Dakota residents faces food insecurity, which has been linked to higher prevalence of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Against this backdrop, this study conducted a preliminary process and impact evaluation of Dakota Food Rx, a pilot community-supported agriculture (CSA) produce prescription (PRx) program in the Northern Black Hills of South Dakota. Healthcare providers (Prescribers) referred low-income and/or food-insecure adults with diet-related chronic disease (Patients) to receive weekly produce boxes from a local specialty producer (Grower); evaluation measures included patient pre-post surveys and key informant interviews with Prescribers, Growers and Patients. From June to November 2024, 30 patients participated, receiving 434 produce boxes (mean 14.5 per patient) valued at over $14,000. Ten pre-surveys and eight post-surveys were completed (seven pre-only, five post-only, three both), along with nine interviews. Overall program satisfaction was high, and patients responding at post-test reported higher food security and sense of community than at pre-test. Thematic analysis of the interviews indicated patients improved their diet, food access and overall health, and that relationships were built among program participants; however, Prescribers, Growers and Patients all reported having to adapt to the program, with future considerations including increased communication, improved workflow, and additional resources.

· Wikipedia · United States

According to the English Wikipedia article 'South Central Farm', the South Central Farm in Los Angeles operated from 1994 to 2006 as a 14-acre (5.7 ha) urban farm, considered one of the largest of its kind, used by roughly 350 families of moderate means from the surrounding community. On June 13, 2006, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department carried out an eviction and more than 40 protesters were arrested; on July 5, 2006, workers began bulldozing the farm amid further protests.

Keep Growing Detroit · Keep Growing Detroit · United States

The official site of Keep Growing Detroit, an urban agriculture organization aiming for food sovereignty in which most fruits and vegetables consumed by Detroiters are grown within the city. It runs the Garden Resource Program, education series on topics like beekeeping and carpentry, and an online farm store, Grown in Detroit.

FOVIDA - Fomento de la Vida · FOVIDA (Fomento de la Vida) · Peru

Peruvian NGO FOVIDA (Fomento de la Vida) reported on 11 May 2026 on an award ceremony held 30 April 2026 in Lima Sur (Villa María del Triunfo, Villa El Salvador and San Juan de Miraflores), where more than 30 urban agriculture experiences were recognized through a photo and video contest highlighting home, school and community gardens' contributions to food security and climate resilience. Winner Victoria Arce Arguedas stated that "90% of those of us who participate in the gardens are women," while fellow winner Odilia Delgado said gardening has been a major boost to the mental health of older adults like herself.

William 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.

Christina Frendo · Urban Geography · Canada (Montréal)

This study analyzed how urban agriculture contributes to green gentrification in Montréal. Based on interviews with planners, developers, and community actors, and discourse analysis of municipal policy documents, it showed that ecological initiatives are prioritized over housing, and sustainability fixes reconcile progressive rhetoric with growth imperatives, leading to policy trade-offs that undermine housing affordability. These findings reveal how progressive governments reproduce structural injustices through their ecological transition agendas within the context of a housing crisis.

Rita de Cássia Lisboa Ribeiro, Cecília Rocha, Andhressa Araújo Fagundes · Urban Planning · Brazil

An integrative literature review investigated the potential of Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) to promote food security in Brazil. CSA can ensure a decent income for family farmers, reducing social vulnerability, and shows significant potential for promoting food sustainability due to its strong influence from agroecology. However, CSA faces a significant limitation in the elitization of this movement, reflecting historical social inequalities where only a relatively small portion of the population can afford healthier food.

Stonebraker, 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.

Kessie Alexandre · Transforming Anthropology · United States (Newark)

This article traces Black environmental relations in the stewardship of community gardens and green spaces in Newark, New Jersey. It examines how Black Newarkers, with roots in the American South and Caribbean, contend with the legacy of plantations while framing land cultivation as a mode of recovery and resistance. The study highlights how these growers acknowledge the association between cultivation and captivity, yet use it to address present-day labor extractions and enact self-determination.

Ayari G. Pasquier Merino, Simone Buratti · · Mexico (Mexico City)

This study analyzed the conditions and challenges in the logistics of transporting merchandise from production areas to commercialization spaces, using a case study of Mexico City’s peri-urban agricultural producers. Qualitative research, conducted from 2019 to 2022, involved 60 interviews with production and distribution project managers, a discussion workshop on transportation issues, and visits to production and distribution spaces. Results indicate that infrastructure and logistics for goods transportation are a key issue for the successful integration of small, peri-urban producers into urban markets. It was suggested that transport and logistics must be addressed for these producers to become viable economic actors.

Gonzalo Lizarralde, Sara Latorre, Neidy Clavijo, Benjamín Herazo, Manuel Pérez, Kevin Gould, Myriam Paredes, Elsa Monsalve, Nicolás Ordoñez, Roberto Burdiles, Claudio Araneda, Lisa Bornstein, Ricardo Dueñez, Adriana Patricia López Valencia, Oswaldo López, Andrés Olivera, Pedro Tex Martinez, Gloria Artze · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Latin America and the Caribbean

This study investigated the emergence, legitimization, and survival of alternative food systems in low-income settlements across Latin America and the Caribbean. Researchers conducted 340 interviews and 312 questionnaires, following 18 bottom-up initiatives related to food production, distribution, transformation, and consumption in urban and peri-urban areas of Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, and Chile. Empirical results demonstrated the inadequacy of existing regulations and policies to comprehend the dynamic resistance occurring in the "in between" spaces of both identities and urban structure.

Robert J. Moriarity, Meaghan J. Wilton, Eric N. Liberda, Tim Drew, Ada John, Howard Jeddore, Atanu Sarkar, Jim D. Karagatzides, Leonard J. S. Tsuji · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Canada (Newfoundland)

This study aimed to develop safe community garden sites in Miawpukek First Nation, Newfoundland, Canada, addressing potential soil contamination. Soil testing revealed inorganic arsenic levels exceeding Canadian agricultural guidelines. Hügelkultur-style raised beds with imported soil were used, resulting in undetectable arsenic in potatoes grown there, while potatoes from contaminated soil exceeded safety limits. Kale grown in both raised beds and native soil remained within safety limits.

Caitlin Morgan · Gastronomica The Journal of Food and Culture · United States (upstate New York)

This study is a case study of Essex Farm, a full-diet Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation in upstate New York. The farm struggled to balance its ecological and social values with the economic imperatives and pressures of surviving in a competitive, capitalist market. Consequently, the farm's social fabric, critical to its initial success, began to fray over time.

Tamanda Chabvuta · Western Journal of Communication · United States

This paper examined resilience narratives about a community garden in a predominantly Black neighborhood in the United States during a period of recovery from COVID-19 disruptions. Applying the communication theory of resilience, the analysis revealed themes of honoring legacy, belief in community and sharing, maintaining external collaborations, and persistence despite a lack of internal involvement. The study highlighted the critical role of external collaborators and community history in resilience efforts.