Research & reports

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.

Sara L. Lyons · DigitalCommons (California Polytechnic State University) · United States

The University of Maine Black Bear Food Guild is an entirely student-run Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation that offers student learning and work opportunities. Despite providing various benefits, the Black Bear Food Guild requires financial support to expand its program and ensure its sustained success, indicating a critical need for funding to maintain its future viability.

Edmund L. Thralls · EDIS · United States

This 4-page fact sheet, published by the UF Department of Environmental Horticulture in October 2015, provides instructions for creating a hydroponic garden using a plastic wading pool. It details the materials, tools, and construction steps required to grow various crops in a liquid nutrient solution. The publication aims to engage youth in food systems through hydroponics in school garden settings.

Glorinha Correa Neta, Francisneide de Sousa Lourenço, Naiana Marinho de Souza, J. N. de P. Lourenço, Rainielly Barbosa Soares · · Brazil

This work reports on an experience in the Nova Esperanca community in Brasileirinho, Brazil, with a project focused on a community garden as a propagator of agroecological knowledge. The project aimed to develop activities for vegetable cultivation using agroecological practices. Through tools like Venn diagrams and seasonal calendars, the study observed the difficulties the community faced in planting the Erapakatupa garden.

Kate Gardner Burt · Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · United States

This article explores the social, health, and political contexts influencing the school gardening movement in the United States from 1840 to 2014. It demonstrates that school gardens have remained a mainstay due to their adaptability and ability to connect with important social, health, and political issues over 150 years.

Rachel Wilson, Leslie Bradbury · Figshare · United States

This article presents a mini-unit taught in a third-grade classroom as part of a school garden project, aiming to connect students' understanding of plant parts with the plants they consume. The lessons integrated informational texts into an inquiry-based science unit to align with both Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Next Generation Science Standards.

Talita Slota Kutz, Fernanda Daniela Bandelero, Jéssica Cardoso, Thiago de Olivera Vargas · · Brazil

This work describes a 16-hour theoretical-practical workshop conducted in a settlement in Peritoro-MA, Brazil, during the "Operacao Velho Monge" of Project Rondon in 2014. The workshop aimed to disseminate agroecological horticulture through the implementation of a pilot community garden project with drip irrigation and composting systems, facilitating learning for both the settlement community and participating students.

Renée Johnson · University of North Texas Digital Library (University of North Texas) · United States

This report provides background information on various types of operations involved in the U.S. local and regional food system. These include direct-to-consumer marketing, farmers' markets, farm-to-school programs, community-supported agriculture, community gardens, and school gardens. The report also highlights available resources within existing federal programs administered by the USDA and other agencies.

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.

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.

Tylar Setser · Journal of Small Business Strategy · United States

A report by a FoodCorps Member in Mississippi, USA, describes responsibilities including grant writing, school garden development, and educational outreach, coordinating with local farmers and local District Nutrition Directors to source local produce into school cafeterias. It describes benefits for children including learning to describe healthy choices, identifying new fruits and vegetables, and being introduced to different nutritious recipes and food preparations. Building on the author's experience and that of colleagues, it provides teachers with information for securing fresh, local produce on behalf of children's health and guidelines for creating a "culture of food appreciation."

Ryan McWilliams · ScholarWorks-UA (University of Alaska Fairbanks) · United States

A thesis presented to the faculty of the University of Alaska Anchorage in partial fulfillment of the Master of Public Health degree, concerning the development of a Community Garden Practice Guide to support community gardening in Alaska. This abstract consists only of title-page information and provides no further content detail.

Laura Genello, Jillian P. Fry, J. Adam Frederick, Ximin Li, David C. Love · European Journal of Health and Biology Education · United States

An online survey of 100 respondents in the United States characterized the use of aquaponics (combined aquaculture and hydroponics) in education. Thirty-six percent worked at primary or secondary schools, 53% at colleges or universities, and 11% at vocational or trade schools. Respondents and their institutions engaged an estimated 12,320 to 50,250 participants per year, with a typical school investing $1,000-$4,999 in its aquaponics facility in the prior year and a combined total of $1.4 to $6.6 million invested across all academic institutions. Continued collaboration, technical support and training from universities and aquaculture education and research centers were identified as needed.

Tiffany B. Hunter · CORE Scholar (Wright State University) · United States

A pilot study (Wright State University, CORE Scholar, 2016) adapted a community garden and environmental education model, first observed during an internship with Israel's Ministry of Health in an Arab village, to an urban, minority-concentrated school population in Dayton, Ohio. Administered in July 2016 at a local foodbank with a pre-existing urban garden, using an eight-week curriculum, the pilot found that participants—who lived in urban, low-income areas—had poor eating habits and low literacy scores at baseline, though the program was reported to enhance participants' learning and understanding of the world around them.

James E. Allen, Jairus Rossi, Timothy A. Woods, Alison F. Davis · International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability · United States

A survey of 151 shareholders across three midsized Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operations near Lexington, Kentucky (International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 2016), addressed a gap in prior research that had relied mostly on small samples (n < 25). Using 20 paired before/after questions, paired two-sided t-tests, and regression of paired differences on socioeconomic factors, self-reported health, and years of CSA enrollment, the study found that food lifestyle behaviors and health outcomes changed after CSA participation, with respondents who reported "poor health" before enrollment showing the most change overall. The authors describe these results as an initial analysis of CSA's impact on shareholder food lifestyle behaviors and health outcomes.

Adriella Camila Gabriela F. da S. Furtado da Silva, Danielle Regina Bento Lessa da Silva, Ana Carolina Damm dos Santos Gomes de Farias, Joyce Alves Carvalho Martins, Caroline Giot Bronner, Mônica de Caldas Rosa dos Anjos · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil

A report on the "Cultivando Saúde" (Cultivating Health) program in Brazil examines an effort linking urban agriculture practice to promoting healthy eating habits and productive use of urban space for food production. Using participatory methods, dialogue-promoting activities emphasizing knowledge exchange were carried out over three months, yielding a positive response in the acceptance and adoption of suggested recipes; the practice of growing one's own food was observed both in participants' statements during group sessions and during household visits.

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.

Berezowitz C., Bontrager Yoder A., Schoeller D. · Journal of School Health, 85(8):508-518 · United States

A review examining the academic and dietary effects of school garden programs. It found that garden-based learning does not harm academic performance and may favorably affect science and math achievement as well as fruit and vegetable intake and preferences.

Sharma S.V., Hedberg A.M., Skala K.A., Chuang R.-J., Lewis T. · Journal of Early Childhood Research, 13(1):93–110 · United States (Texas)

An 8-week teacher-led PLANT Gardens (Preschoolers Learn About Nutrition Through Gardens) program with 103 Head Start preschoolers in two Harris County, Texas centers. Confirmed feasibility and acceptability and a significant increase in parent-reported willingness to try new fruits and vegetables.

Lowenstein D.M., Matteson K.C., Minor E.S. · Oecologia, 179(3):811-821 · United States

A study measuring wild bee diversity and cucumber pollination (a pollination service) across urban Chicago. Sites with more bee species had better pollination, and even densely populated residential areas supported high bee richness. It demonstrates that growing diverse flowers in urban gardens sustains pollinators and directly benefits urban agricultural yields.

Valerie Calberry, Lori Pivarnik, Ingrid Lofgren · The FASEB Journal · United States (Rhode Island)

An intervention study, part of a Rhode Island Farm to School project overseen by the nonprofit Farm Fresh RI, aimed at improving elementary and middle school students' knowledge and practices around the food safety of school-garden produce. Two lessons on good vs. bad bacteria, hand hygiene, and harvesting/washing were delivered to 115 children aged 5–11, and knowledge scores rose significantly by over 39% (from 5.3±1.8 to 7.4±2.0).

Luke Drake, Laura Lawson · Journal of Extension · United States (New Jersey)

This article uses ethnographic methods to examine how community gardens actually work, focusing on management in New Jersey. It finds that spatial and social contexts shape key issues such as water access, participation, and horticultural techniques, and argues that Extension professionals can support community gardens more effectively—in planning and organization as well as horticultural education—by tailoring advice to these contexts.

Brian Wansink, Andrew S. Hanks, David R. Just · Acta Paediatrica · United States (New York)

Using a before/after tray-waste design, this pilot tested whether a cold-climate high school garden could influence vegetable intake without nutrition education. At an upstate New York high school, adding garden-grown greens to the salad bar raised the share of students selecting salad from 2% to 10% and students ate about two-thirds of what they took, though waste rose from 5.56% to 33.33% per serving.

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.

Nancy M. Wells, Beth M. Myers, Lauren Todd, Karen Barale, Brad Gaolach, Gretchen Ferenz, Martha Aitken, Charles Henderson, Caroline C. Tse, Karen Ostlie Pattison, Cayla Taylor, Laura Connerly, Janet B. Carson, Alexandra Z. Gensemer, Nancy Franz, Elizabeth C. Falk · International Journal of Science Education · United States

A randomized controlled trial in 25 low-income elementary schools across four US states (n=3,061 students aged 6-12) examined the effect of a school garden intervention on science knowledge from Fall 2011 to Spring 2013. While science knowledge increased more in the intervention group than in the control group, overall scores remained poor and gains were very modest. A dose-response relationship was observed, where more robust intervention implementations correlated with stronger treatment effects.