Research & reports

Pjilmah Waken Waken, Tania Paul, Waken, Pjilmah Waken, Paul, Tania · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Global

A study and intervention report addressing the decline in consumption of traditional vegetables in Papua New Guinea (PNG), which is adversely affecting family nutrition and increasing rates of malnutrition and obesity. Traditional vegetables are climatically adapted to PNG, require lower inputs, and are described as superior in food value to globally popular vegetables, historically providing a large share of daily protein, vitamin, and mineral intake in the village diet. The research found that people lacked awareness of the nutritional value of traditional vegetables, considering them "backward" and "poverty" food, even though the vegetables remain strongly connected to culture and "home." The project trained smallholder farmers in pest and disease management and seed saving to reduce input costs, worked with families and communities to raise awareness of traditional vegetables' nutritional value, trained families in gardening and cooking, and created new recipes using local vegetables. Planned next steps include work with maternal-child clinics linked to hospitals and school-based programs combining teacher education, school gardens, and incentive-based lunchboxes. Some growers have applied their seed-saving skills to set up small-scale seed businesses.

Amy J. Williams · VCU Scholars Compass (Virginia Commonwealth University) · United States

This project proposes a grocery store and garden design for a food desert neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia, US, where grocery chains avoid low-income areas and where about 49 million people nationally experience food insecurity (citing Whittle et al., 2015). Its methods combine case studies of community gardens, farms, and markets with resident interviews and a literature review; drawing on that literature, it reports that autonomy over a garden keeps participants invested in their community, that convenience stores are prevalent in the studied neighborhood, and that marketing of nutritious foods is less common than for packaged foods though point-of-sale kiosks show promise for marketing fresh produce to children.

Matheus Fernandes Iida Domiciano, Andressa Giovannini Costa, Tatiane Melo de Lima, Bruno Nery Fernandes Vasconcelos, Leidiane da Silva Rodrigues, Cleuder Roque Arruda de Matos · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil

A university extension project (UFU's PEIC, with the Nucleus of Agroecology Studies of Cerrado Mineiro, NACEM) installed and maintained a vegetable garden at a nursing home for the elderly in Monte Carmelo, Minas Gerais, Brazil, involving university teachers, students, community volunteers, and elderly residents. The project reports indirect social and economic benefits, including interaction between students and elderly residents, inclusion activities for the elderly, and sale of garden produce to the community, which contributed to the residents' diet quality.

Emma Sutphen · Clark Digital Commons (Clark University) · United States

This practitioner report examines the Giving Garden, a community garden at Coogan Farm established in 2013 by the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in New London County, Connecticut, and its effects on community health and regional food security. Based on participatory research drawing on the author's experience as a 2017 summer intern and subsequent Assistant Garden Manager, the garden contributes to reducing local food insecurity by supplying seasonal fruits and vegetables grown through biointensive, regenerative practices. Findings suggest Giving Garden members experience a heightened sense of community, recipients of garden produce achieve greater overall health, and educational programs teaching sustainable farming practices promote more ecologically friendly household farming and gardening.

Roberta Hoepers Mascarenhas, Adrian José Ramos, Ana Beatriz Boos dos Santos, Eduarda Nunes, Emile de Lima Pollheim, Eric Schwamberger, Gabriela Santos Patriarca, Julia Novak Baumgart, Kassia Kathellyn Barboza, Lucas Augusto Venske, Mara Alice Pereira, Maria Eduarda Batista Tiago, Naira Zesuino, Rossie Katherine dos Santos, Samuel Carvalho de Matos-Filho, Vinícius Verwiebe, Helenadja Santos Mota, Tatiane Sueli Coutinho · Anais da Mostra Nacional de Iniciação Científica e Tecnológica Interdisciplinar (MICTI) - e-ISSN 2316-7165 · Brazil

A community medicinal-herb garden project in Brusque, Brazil, catalogued 32 medicinal herbs through a literature review and selected 28 of them for planting and further study, aiming to raise community awareness of natural treatments through a booklet and talks at schools in the Brusque municipal school network. The first activity was carried out with students from APAE, a special-education institution.

Virginia L. J. Bolshakova, John Gieng, C. Sheena Sidhu · California Agriculture · United States (California)

In San Mateo County, California, teen ambassadors trained by UC Cooperative Extension educators and volunteers at UC Elkus Ranch taught nutrition science, food cultivation and healthy living skills to elementary schoolchildren in an urban setting through an 8-week, garden-based after-school program (the Healthy Living Ambassador Program) in spring 2015. A mixed-methods pilot study measured children's vegetable selection and consumption preferences and teens' perceived self-efficacy in healthy living behavior. Children trended toward increased preference for gardening, cooking and science, and teens showed an increase in perceived health self-efficacy.

Equipo LS · Ladera Sur · Chile

This article lists ten benefits of urban community gardens. It reports that the first urban community garden in Chile's capital was a 2007 municipal project in La Pintana, on a 700 sq m plot divided into 11 gardens. By around 2012, roughly 40 such spaces already existed in Santiago, and new projects such as the Barrio Yungay initiative have continued to spread since.

Soga M., Cox D.T.C., Yamaura Y., Gaston K.J., Kurisu K., Hanaki K. · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(1):71 · Japan

A questionnaire survey of 332 allotment gardeners and non-gardeners in Tokyo compared five self-reported outcomes: perceived general health, physical complaints, BMI, mental health and social cohesion. Allotment gardeners reported better general health, fewer complaints, better mental health and greater social cohesion, indicating that urban allotment gardening can improve residents' physical and mental health and community ties.

Brenda B. Lin, Stacy M. Philpott, Shalene Jha, Heidi Liere · Greening Cities (Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements), Springer, 155-179 · Global

A book chapter framing urban agriculture—community farms, rooftop gardens, edible landscaping and urban orchards—as 'productive green infrastructure' supplying high biodiversity and diverse ecosystem services. It synthesizes both ecosystem services (pollination, biological pest control) and social benefits (food and nutrition, cultural and recreational value) that this green infrastructure delivers to cities.

Tieman D., Zhu G., Resende M.F.R., Lin T., Nguyen C., Bies D., Rambla J.L., Beltran K.S.O., Taylor M., Zhang B., Ikeda H., Liu Z., Fisher J., Zemach I., Monforte A., Zamir D., Granell A., Kirst M., Huang S., Klee H. · Science 355(6323):391-394 · Global

Quantified flavor chemicals across 398 modern, heirloom, and wild tomato accessions and linked them to consumer liking. Shows modern cultivars lost allelic diversity governing sugars, acids, and volatiles, explaining reduced flavor versus heirlooms.

Soga M., Gaston K. J., Yamaura Y. · Preventive Medicine Reports · Global

Meta-analysis demonstrating that gardening yields wide-ranging health benefits, reductions in depression and anxiety and gains in life satisfaction and physical activity, underpinning the health rationale for workplace and community garden programs.

Lee R.E., Parker N.H., Soltero E.G., Ledoux T., Hernandez I., Sahnoune I. · BMC Public Health, 17:242 · United States

Piloted SAGE—a 12-session garden education program with songs, games, taste tests and garden care—for 89 children aged 3–5 in six early care and education centers across two US cities, evaluating reach, efficacy and implementation using the RE-AIM framework for PA and fruit and vegetable intake.

Martin P., Consalès J.-N., Scheromm P., Marchand P., Ghestem F., Darmon N. · Appetite · France (Marseille)

Study in a deprived Marseille neighborhood found that socioeconomically disadvantaged women with access to a community garden were more likely to adopt a healthy diet than matched controls without such access.

Rosalie M. Sharp, Daniel J. Brabander · GeoHealth · United States (Boston)

This study assessed lead (Pb) bioaccessibility, transport, and exposure pathways in urban gardens in Roxbury and Dorchester, MA, in partnership with The Food Project, which brings local farmers into the research. Compost had lower total Pb, lower gastric Pb solubility, and less fine-particle resuspension than soils, with a mean bioaccessible Pb of 265 mg/kg—nearly an order of magnitude lower than soils. Across all matrices, grain sizes under 37 μm held a disproportionate share of bioaccessible Pb, whose isotopic composition pointed to leaded gasoline and leaded paint.

Maia G. Fitzstevens, Rosalie M. Sharp, Daniel J. Brabander · Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene · United States (Boston)

To support urban agriculture and limit childhood lead exposure from resuspended urban soils, this study measured bulk and bioaccessible lead in five types of compost used in Boston urban gardens. Different feedstocks showed unique geochemical fingerprints; bulk lead in compost was a fraction of that in urban soils, yet the bioaccessible fraction exceeded the IEUBK model's default parameters. Based on the observed bioaccessibility, 170 mg/kg total lead in compost yields the same bioaccessible lead as the model predicts for the 400 mg/kg EPA soil benchmark, so risk assessments should treat compost as an urban matrix.

Gatto · Pediatric Obesity · USA (Los Angeles)

A randomized controlled trial of a 12-week after-school nutrition, cooking, and gardening program held at a community garden, assessing reductions in obesity and metabolic risk among Hispanic/Latino youth.

Rotheram S., McGarrol S., Watkins F. · Health & Place · United Kingdom

Qualitative interviews with 18 clients with a learning disability who attend UK care farms examined how these spaces contribute to their health and wellbeing, identifying care farms as a positive 'space of wellbeing'.

· Regional Studies, Regional Science · United Kingdom (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Investigates the motivations and lived experiences of community garden participants in Edinburgh, Scotland.

· BMC Geriatrics · Netherlands

A cross-sectional study in the southern Netherlands comparing quality of care and quality of life for 115 residents with dementia across green care farms, regular small-scale living facilities, and traditional nursing homes.

· Frontiers in Environmental Science · Brazil (Sao Paulo)

PAHs, including carcinogenic congeners, were detected in vegetables grown in urban gardens of Sao Paulo, showing that urban air pollution and soil contamination drive PAH accumulation in city-grown produce.

Kim H., Kim K., Kim W. · Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology · South Korea

Urban agricultural soils near heavily trafficked roads showed elevated nickel and chromium, and unwashed Chinese cabbage leaves collected roadside carried higher heavy-metal levels from deposited traffic-related particles.

Tiantian Xiong, Camille Dumat, V. Dappe, Hervé Vezin, Eva Schreck, Muhammad Shahid, Antoine Pierart, S. Sobanska · Environmental Science & Technology · Global

This study assessed the phytotoxicity of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO-NPs) in lettuce and cabbage, exposing them via leaves for up to 15 days to various CuO-NP concentrations. High foliar Cu uptake occurred, leading to decreased plant weight, net photosynthesis, water content, and necrotic Cu-rich areas. The findings highlighted a potential health risk associated with consuming vegetables contaminated with CuO-NPs.

Amélie Robert, Jean Louis Yengué · Environment and Ecology Research · France

This case study investigated the Bergeonnerie allotments in Tours, France, through in situ observations, user surveys, and interviews with municipal stakeholders. It found that these allotments provide not only provisioning services like food but also cultural ecosystem services, serving as a source of well-being for gardeners and a place for walking, sociability, and education for other people. Municipal stakeholders confirmed these broader benefits, indicating allotments offer more than just vegetable cultivation.

Melissa N. Poulsen, Roni Neff, Peter J. Winch · Local Environment · United States (Baltimore)

This qualitative case study in Baltimore, Maryland, explored community perceptions of how urban farms benefit neighborhoods. Interviews with residents, neighborhood leaders, and urban farmers in three residential neighborhoods revealed that benefits stemmed from the creation of public projects, physical improvement of degraded spaces, local food production, and new businesses. These changes led to perceived benefits such as increased social connectedness, a transformed physical landscape, improved neighborhood reputation, and enhanced access to fresh produce, demonstrating the importance of a multifunctional paradigm beyond traditional economic indicators.

Filiz Çelik · Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology · Global

This study explains the emergence, design, maintenance, and importance of edible landscapes in urban environments. Edible landscaping integrates food plants as design features for both aesthetic value and consumption, aiming to reconnect people with local food systems. It encompasses a variety of garden types and scales but does not include food items produced for sale.