Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
2056 results(60 / 83)
Creativity
2016Beth R. Crisp · · Global
This chapter explores the potential for creativity across a wide range of life domains, including the arts, social work, and cooking. It notes that poverty and lack of funds are not necessarily an impediment to people expressing their creativity in their places of living. Community gardens can bring together parts of a community who might not otherwise have anything to do with each other, in addition to providing gardeners with physical and mental health benefits.
CommunityHealthLinking Food Insecure Patients With Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
2016Daniel 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.
Limited or null effectCSA & TeikeiHealthWelfareUrban Cultivation and Its Contributions to Sustainability: Nibbles of Food but Oodles of Social Capital
2016George Martin, Roland Clift, Ian Christie · Sustainability · Global
This exploratory study examined three urban cultivation sites in New York, London, and San Francisco to assess their nutritional, ecological, and social sustainability contributions. Field analysis revealed very low food outputs relative to the populations of their catchment areas, indicating that most urban food will continue to come from outside urban peripheries. The study concluded that urban food growing's sustainability benefits are more social than agronomic or ecological.
Limited or null effectCommunityEconomicsHealthClimate changeEvaluation of a Nutrition Intervention through a School-Based Food Garden to Improve Dietary Consumption, Habits and Practices in Children from the Third to Fifth Grade in Chile
2016Diego Vinueza, Lydia Lera, Judith Salinas, Carmen Gloria González, Lorena Barrios, Fernando Vío · Food and Nutrition Sciences · Chile (Santiago de Chile)
This study conducted a six-month quasi-experimental intervention in two public schools in Santiago de Chile (intervention and control schools) to evaluate the improvement of healthy dietary consumption, habits, and practices among third to fifth-grade children using a school-based food garden. The intervention school showed significant improvements in dietary habits, such as peeling and slicing fruit, and increased use of the school garden, but no significant changes were observed in food consumption or nutritional status.
Food educationHealthCommunityMedia Frames and Shifting Places of Environmental (In)Justice: A Qualitative Historical Geographic Information System Method
2016Bethany B. Cutts, Danqi Fang, Kaitlyn Hornik, Jonathan London, Kirsten Schwarz, Mary L. Cadenasso · Environmental Justice · United States (California)
This study introduced a Qualitative Historical Geographic Information System (QHGIS) method to investigate how newspapers reflect changing meanings of place in relation to environmental burden and benefit. Applying QHGIS to urban gardening and soil lead issues reported in Sacramento, California, the method revealed the distribution of public narratives of environmental concern across the city, the politics embedded in location names, place name-changes, and how locations serve as framing devices for environmental concerns.
Contamination & food safetyCommunityHealthPolicyGender, resilience and resistance: South Africa’s Hleketani Community Garden
2016Elizabeth Vibert · Journal of Contemporary African Studies · South Africa
This article examines the Hleketani Community Garden in Limpopo Province, South Africa, highlighting the successes of women farmers in reducing poverty and improving health outcomes. Despite these benefits, the research identifies significant structural barriers, including lack of access to resources, unfavorable policy frameworks for small-scale agriculture, and worsening climate change, that hinder small-scale farmers, particularly women.
Equity & displacementCommunityWelfareHealthPolicyClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceA Complete History of the Social, Health, and Political Context of the School Gardening Movement in the United States: 1840–2014
2016Kate 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.
Food educationHealthPolicyCommunityComplementary school garden, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene interventions to improve children’s nutrition and health status in Burkina Faso and Nepal: a study protocol
2016Séverine Erismann, Akina Shrestha, Serge Diagbouga, Astrid M. Knoblauch, Jana Gerold, Ramona Herz, Subodh Sharma, Christian Schindler, Peter Odermatt, Axel Drescher, Ray-Yu Yang, Jürg Utzinger, Guéladio Cissé · BMC Public Health · Burkina Faso; Nepal
This study protocol aims to describe the health status of schoolchildren in Burkina Faso and Nepal and provide an evidence-base for program decisions on the relevance of complementary school garden, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions. The studies will be conducted in 24 schools among 1144 children aged 8-14 years in the Centre Ouest and Plateau Central regions of Burkina Faso and the Dolakha and Ramechhap districts of Nepal. Data will be collected at baseline and a 1-year follow-up, including parasitological examinations, anthropometric and hemoglobin measurements, and questionnaire surveys to assess nutritional status, intestinal parasitic infections, and WASH conditions.
Food educationHealthWelfareEcosystem services and tradeoffs in the home food gardens of African American, Chinese-origin and Mexican-origin households in Chicago, IL
2016John Taylor, Sarah Taylor Lovell, Sam E. Wortman, M.K. Chan · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United States (Chicago)
In Chicago, semi-structured interviews and plant inventories were conducted with 59 African American, Chinese-origin, and Mexican-origin households regarding ecosystem services and tradeoffs in their home food gardens. A total of 387 plant species were identified; gardens of African American households were rich in ornamental species, while those of Chinese-origin households had a depauperate flora. Shade trees and a developed shrub layer were absent from most gardens, suggesting a tradeoff in ecosystem services favoring food production. Only 9.6% of the inventoried species were native to the Chicago area.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityBiodiversityOrganic cycleHealthAgricultura urbana como alternativa de seguridad alimentaria y nutricional : familias de la UPZ Marruecos, localidad Rafael Uribe Uribe, Bogotá
2016Monroy Quevedo, Katherin Mayerli · · Colombia (Bogotá)
A mixed-methods study in UPZ Marruecos, Rafael Uribe Uribe Locality, Bogotá, Colombia, investigated the impact of urban agriculture on the food and nutritional security of participating families. Based on interviews and surveys with 10 participants, urban agriculture was found to contribute to families' food and nutritional security by increasing the availability of safe food and improving physical access. Participants perceived higher consumption of vegetables, fruits, tubers, cereals, and legumes, leading to greater dietary diversity.
Food sovereignty & justiceHealthCommunityWelfareElderlyCommunity garden: A bridging program between formal and informal learning
2016Ranjan Datta · Cogent Education · Global
Community garden activities play a significant role in bridging formal and informal learning, especially in urban children's science and environmental education, by promoting relational methods that integrate food security, social interactions, community development, environmental activism, and cultural integration. An auto-ethnographic study revealed that community garden-based practices adhere to forms of agency such as embracing diversity, sharing power, and trust building as part of everyday learning.
CommunityFood educationHealthFood sovereignty & justiceA faecal exposure assessment of farm workers in Accra, Ghana: a cross sectional study
2016Prince Antwi-Agyei, Adam Biran, Anne Peasey, Jane Bruce, Jeroen H. J. Ensink · BMC Public Health · Ghana (Accra)
This cross-sectional study in Accra, Ghana, assessed faecal exposure among 80 farm workers during dry and wet seasons, analyzing water and soil samples for E. coli. The results showed that while irrigation water was highly contaminated (5.6 Log E. coli/100 ml), exposure to farm soil (2.3 Log E. coli/g) was the key risk pathway due to soil-to-mouth events, with 53% of farmers experiencing such events daily. The estimated norovirus infection risk to farmers was found to be higher than guidelines set by the WHO, indicating that exposure to soil is a critical pathway of pathogen risk in wastewater farmers, exceeding recommended health targets.
Contamination & food safetyHealthUrban–rural linkagePolicyUsing Community-Based Participatory Research to Explore Backyard Gardening Practices and Soil Lead Concentrations in Urban Neighborhoods
2016Sheri L. Johnson, Dalila Cardona, J. H. C. Davis, Benjamin Gramling, Chelsea Hamilton, Ray G. Hoffmann, Sabrina J. Ruis, Douglas J. Soldat, Steve Ventura, Yan Ke · Progress in community health partnerships · Global
This study used community-based participatory research to explore backyard gardening practices and soil lead concentrations in urban neighborhoods. Interviews with 20 adult gardeners revealed perceived benefits but few initial concerns about lead exposure, despite children's active involvement. Soil lead concentrations from 17 residential properties ranged from 7 to 3,234 mg kg-1, significantly higher than commercial soils (6 to 13 mg kg-1), indicating a contamination risk.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunityFood educationUrban AgriCulture and Food Systems Dynamics: Urban Gardening and Urban Farming of the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg region, Germany
2016Darya Hirsch, Christian H. Meyer, Johannes Klement, Martin Hamer, Wiltrud Terlau, Hirsch, Darya, Meyer, Christian, Klement, Johannes, Hamer, Martin, Terlau, Wiltrud · Publication Server of Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences) · Germany
This paper presents an empirical case study on Urban AgriCulture initiatives in the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg region of Germany. It states that Urban AgriCulture is a niche movement with the potential to contribute significantly to urban development and constitute a pillar of urban quality of life.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsHealthCaracterización de diferentes métodos de establecimiento y producción de agricultura urbana, bajo la sostenibilidad y seguridad alimentaria para la población vulnerable de Altos de Cazucá, municipio de Soacha: Informe de avance de investigación
2016Paredes Guzmán, Germán Ricardo · · Colombia (Bogotá)
This project aims to describe different methods of establishing and producing urban agriculture, focusing on sustainability and food security for the vulnerable population of Altos de Cazucá, Soacha municipality, Colombia. This population is affected by forced displacement due to armed conflict, resulting in increased poverty and malnutrition, with a chronic malnutrition rate of 30% in children compared to the national average of 8%. The project proposes to apply participatory action research methodologies and techniques to develop an urban production model that addresses these issues.
Food sovereignty & justiceWelfareCommunityHealthGarden-based nutrition education programs: a review of impact and evaluation methods
2016Hollis J. Laird · D-Scholarship@Pitt (University of Pittsburgh) · Global
This paper reviews the effects and evaluation methods of garden-based nutrition education programs, noting their positive impacts on children, including increased knowledge, preference, and consumption of fruits and vegetables, and increased self-efficacy. It identifies a lack of standardized evaluation methods for these programs as a limitation. The paper also describes the evaluation of the Enright Community Garden's nutrition education component for children.
Food educationHealthCommunityEnvironmental pressures on and the status of urban allotments: Chapitre 6. In: Urban allotment gardens in Europe
2016Andrew Hursthouse, T. E. Leitão, Annette Voigt, Avigail Heller, Béatrice Bechet, Paulo Brito da Luz · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Europe
This chapter overviews factors influencing the chemical, physical, and biological status of soils, water, and the biosphere in urban allotment gardens. It highlights that urban garden soils, water, and biosphere are affected by pollution due to their location in city centers or suburbs, with traffic infrastructure and industrial zones widely identified as impacting soil and water quality. Concerns over long-term risks from pollutant transfer (mainly metals) from soil to plants in these uncontrolled environments have been widely publicized.
Contamination & food safetyCommunityHealthBiodiversityOrganic cycleSchool Gardens Enhance Academic Performance and Dietary Outcomes in Children
2015Berezowitz 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.
Food educationHealthPolicyA systematic review of urban agriculture and food security impacts in low-income countries
2015Poulsen M. N., McNab P. R., Clayton M. L., Neff R. A. · Food Policy 55:131-146 · Global
Synthesizing 35 peer-reviewed studies from 1980-2013, this review finds urban agriculture in low-income countries can improve food availability and dietary diversity, especially benefiting women, though income gains are not always sufficient to ensure household food security.
WelfareHealthEconomicsFeasibility and acceptability of a gardening-based nutrition education program in preschoolers from low-income, minority populations
2015Sharma 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.
Food educationHealthCommunityUrban agriculture, civil interfaces and moving beyond difference: the experiences of plot holders in Dublin and Belfast
2015Corcoran M.P., Kettle P.C. · Local Environment · Ireland (Dublin)
This comparative study of plot holders in Dublin and Belfast shows that allotment gardens can act as 'spaces of potential' where shared gardening dissolves social differences and fosters intergenerational knowledge exchange. The authors argue that urban agriculture sites function as civic interfaces bridging community divides.
CommunityHealthFood educationFood securitization and urban agriculture in Hanoi (Vietnam)
2015Pulliat G. · Articulo – Journal of Urban Research · Vietnam (Hanoi)
Based on qualitative fieldwork with underprivileged households in Hanoi, this paper argues that small-scale urban and peri-urban agriculture provides affordable, safe, and diverse food for low-income residents, while current urbanization policies generate spatial injustice by restricting access to agricultural land.
HealthPolicyEconomicsCommunityThe effect of women's home gardens on vegetable production and consumption in Bangladesh
2015Schreinemachers P., Patalagsa M.A., Islam M.R., Uddin M.N., Ahmad S., Biswas S.C., Ahmed M.T., Yang R.Y., Hanson P., Begum S., Takagi C. · Food Security · Bangladesh
A study of 582 poor rural Bangladeshi women found home garden training increased per-capita vegetable production by 86% and significantly improved dietary diversity and nutrient supply including iron (+284%) and vitamin A (+189%).
HealthFood educationEconomicsFood Safety and School Garden Program for Elementary and Middle School Students
2015Valerie 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).
Food educationHealthA plant to plate pilot: a cold‐climate high school garden increased vegetable selection but also waste
2015Brian 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.
Food educationHealthFood loss