Research & reports

Sabine Lefkowitz · · United States (Portland)

This thesis examined the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and outdoor time in Portland, Oregon public elementary schools. The study found that higher SES elementary schools spend more time outdoors than low SES schools. This disparity amplifies existing disadvantages for children in high-poverty schools, suggesting an inequity in outdoor time provision.

이숙미, 김인호 · · South Korea

This study analyzed research trends on community garden programs for homeless self-support in South Korea. Homeless individuals exhibit high rates of physical and mental disabilities, making healthcare crucial for rehabilitation. The abstract suggests that instituting community gardens within supportive housing could offer comprehensive services such as improving sociality, providing job training opportunities, physical and mental health care, and communication spaces for rehabilitation.

Patricia Keane, Alejandro Ortega Hortelano, Jeanette Linville · Journal of Public Health Management and Practice · United States

As an evaluation of the "Healthy Kids, Healthy Cuba (HKHCuba)" program in a triethnic rural community in New Mexico, 12 partners participated in a group model building (GMB) session to introduce systems thinking. The session identified 27 influences as feedback loops from behavior over time graphs and 5 subsystems from a causal loop diagram. Results showed that in addition to strategy-related influences like access to healthy food and community garden participation, a sense of cultural pride, community, and social engagement, especially among youth, were highly salient.

Selina Dorking, Paige Eisen, Joseph J. Godfrey, Regina López, Steven A. Smith · ScholarWorks - GVSU (Grand Valley State University) · United States

In the Heartside neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, the non-profit Heartside Gleaning Initiative (HGI) has been addressing food insecurity since 2014. During the winter semester of 2015, the "Food Fighters," a team of Grand Valley State University students, collaborated with HGI to tackle the challenges of food waste, food insecurity, and community sustainability. Their efforts resulted in the Heartside Glean Ride mobile food cart plan and a brochure for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes, designed to increase food distribution.

Pai Liu · TigerPrints (Clemson University) · United States (Atlanta)

This study explored how urban agriculture can be effective in cities by comparing and evaluating eight U.S. case studies against six criteria: locality, experience, economy, health, community engagement, and resources. The research aimed to develop a new model for sustainable urban agriculture to improve urban living environments. Results indicated how these six criteria interact to form an integrated framework for a "perma-urban farm," with a design application along Atlanta's Beltline as an example.

Barrientos Gómez, Yuly Anthoula · · Global

A paper examining that, while much research has attempted to establish the range of benefits and services attributed to urban agriculture across social/community, environmental, economic, political, and technical dimensions, uncertainty remains about the outlook from an environmental-management perspective, how the scholarly effort around the topic has evolved, and where this knowledge has been produced. Aiming to systematically evaluate the state of knowledge on urban agriculture through a literature review, the article presents a quantitative review of 300 studies on urban agriculture, examining the origin of publication, number of authors, type of publication, language, type and nature of the investigation, publication source, country of origin, and research objectives categorised by field of knowledge.

Christopher Wharton, Renée Shaw Hughner, Lexi MacMillan, Claudia Dumitrescu · Ecology of Food and Nutrition · United States

A US study conducted a series of focus groups to identify the motives for joining community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, the experiences of CSA membership, and diet-related outcomes. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a framework to categorize findings, the data suggested that CSA membership could serve as a strategy for promoting healthful diets and behaviors. Participant numbers and the specific location are not stated in the abstract.

Pay Drechsel, Keraita, Bernard N. · CGSPace A Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) · Global

A CGIAR (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) perspective piece on food and water challenges at the urban-rural interface amid global urbanization. It states that in low-income countries, investments in waste management and sanitation are not keeping pace with population growth, so the urban "return flow" of waste is not adequately managed. Where polluted water is used for irrigation to feed cities, food safety becomes a crucial component of food security. The piece explicitly states that urban and peri-urban farming systems — often run by the informal sector — are the systems most affected by this resource competition and pollution. It describes CGIAR's Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) research program as working at the interface of agriculture and sanitation to address these urbanization-related challenges and opportunities.

Dieneke Schram-Bijkerk, Dirven-van Breemen L, P Otte · Rivm (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) · Europe

Based on a literature review conducted by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), this report examines the health and living-environment effects of non-commercial neighborhood vegetable gardens on vacant urban land. It notes that garden work is associated with increased physical activity and consumption of self-grown vegetables and fruit, and indications of reduced stress and increased social contact in the neighborhood, while also stressing the importance of minimizing risks from soil and air pollution. The review identifies measurable indicators for each health effect and recommends using consistent measurement methods to enable international comparison; findings are also used to inform research on allotment gardens in various European countries.

Michelle L. Kaiser, Michele L. Williams, Nicholas T. Basta, Michelle D. Hand, Sarah Huber · Journal of Food Protection · 米国・オハイオ

Focus groups (n=67) in four low-income Ohio neighbourhoods plus soil tests at six sites. Residents wanted gardens for fresh produce but worried about soil. Lead, zinc, cadmium and copper were present (paint likely main source); arsenic/chromium and PAHs were low. Further management to cut Pb/Cd bioavailability is needed before food crops; longer-established gardens showed lower contaminant signals. Critical evidence that vacant-lot gardening requires soil risk assessment.

Natoshia M. Askelson, Disa Lubker Cornish, Elizabeth H. Golembiewski · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

A mixed-methods study of rural U.S. school food service directors in a midsized Midwestern state examined perceptions of voluntary school meal programs such as farm-to-school and school garden programs, using semi-structured telephone interviews (n=67) and an online survey (n=57). Directors reported little experience with these programs and perceived them as very challenging to implement, citing very small staff, lack of concrete knowledge about how the programs work, and lack of access to local producers and chefs as the main barriers.

B.M. Mercado-Borrayo, Silke Cram Heydrich, Irma Rosas‐Pérez, Manuel Hernández Quiroz, Claudia Ponce De León Hill · International Journal of Phytoremediation · Mexico

In a natural wetland in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area — a major supplier of crops and flowers whose canals hold high concentrations of organochlorine (OC) and organophosphorus (OP) pesticides — bioaccumulation of these pesticides was studied in water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), a plant considered a plague but suggested in the literature to have phytoremediation potential. In vivo bioaccumulation differences for OC pesticides were largely explained by their log Kow, while all OP pesticides showed bioaccumulation regardless of log Kow, and the higher bioaccumulation factors of some accumulated OC pesticides could not be explained by log Kow alone, suggesting passive transport into the plant. Translocation ratios showed water hyacinth to be an accumulating plant with phytoremediation potential for all the organophosphorus pesticides studied and some organochlorine pesticides, and an equation for free water surface wetlands with floating macrophytes showed pesticide removal by the wetland with room for improvement through better management.

Joana Chan, Bryce DuBois, Keith G. Tidball · · United States (New York City)

This study conducted ethnographic research -- including participant observation, exploratory and in-depth interviews, and archival research -- at five community gardens in New York City's coastal "red zones" affected by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, from April 2013 to February 2014. It found that community gardens functioned as multi-purpose community refuges that hosted meaningful, restorative greening practices and developed supportive communities for residents and garden members in the aftermath of the disaster.

Matthew Northrop, Brooks C. Wingo, Jamy D. Ard · The Qualitative Report · United States

A qualitative study assessing why community gardeners participate at Jones Valley Urban Farm in Birmingham, Alabama, and the potential impacts of participation on members' health, community and diet. Twenty active gardeners across four focus groups reported prior experience, cost savings, taste, sustainability concerns and access to fresh, organic food as reasons for participating, and reported sharing, community development, mental health, personal pride, perceived health benefits and newfound food variety as impacts of their involvement.

Christiane Gasparini Araújo Costa, Mariana Tarricone Garcia, Silvana Maria Ribeiro, Marcia Fernanda de Sousa Salandini, Cláudia Maria Bógus · Ciência & Saúde Coletiva · Brazil

A qualitative cross-sectional study in Embu das Artes, State of São Paulo, Brazil, examined community gardening activity within Primary Healthcare Units (PHUs) as a health promotion (HP) practice and assessed how far its therapeutic dimension aligns it with complementary and integrative practices (CIP). Analysis identified core themes of health concept, health outcomes, return to traditional habits, and reorientation of health services, and found the garden activities closely linked to HP action fields such as creating healthier environments, strengthening community action, developing personal skills, and building autonomy and empowerment.

Carly Wood, Jules Pretty, Murray Griffin · Journal of Public Health · United Kingdom

A UK case-control study measured self-esteem, mood, and general health in 136 allotment gardeners before and after a gardening session, and compared them with 133 non-gardener controls. Paired t-tests showed a significant improvement in self-esteem following an allotment session, and one-way ANCOVA showed allotment gardeners had significantly better self-esteem, total mood disturbance, and general health than controls (P<0.001), with less depression and fatigue and more vigour (P<0.0083).

Sherine Brown-Fraser, I.T. Forrester, Randolph Rowel, A. D. Richardson, Ashley Nicole Spence · Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · United States

Morgan State University's Nutritional Sciences Program describes the principles and practices used to develop a student-led, community-engaged Community Organic Vegetable Garden in Baltimore, Maryland. Garden participation increased four-fold, a variety of crops were grown, and agricultural knowledge increased, alongside improved landscaping and social interaction; a survey found the garden positively influenced participants' fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and environmental awareness.

Simona C. Kwon, Catlin Rideout, Shilpa Patel, Pedro Arista, Edward Tepporn, Jesse Lipman, Sarah Kunkel, Daniel Q. Le, Kathy Ko Chin, Chau Trinh‐Shevrin · Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved · United States

Against a backdrop of high chronic-disease risk factor burden among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) in the United States, the STRIVE Program funded four AANHPI community-based organizations (CBOs) to implement culturally adapted community gardens and farmers' markets aimed at increasing access to healthy foods. Key informant interviews were conducted with CBO staff to understand implementation processes and lessons learned; this abstract does not report specific outcome measures.

Nicholas Siewell, Madhavappallil Thomas · · United States (California)

A needs-assessment study followed by the establishment of a community garden in a neighborhood in Bakersfield, California (2015), collected survey and focus-group data from residents and garden participants to examine the garden's impact. Findings showed strong support for the garden and reported benefits to participants' physical and mental health, social capacities, and spiritual well-being at both the individual and neighborhood level. The authors present the project as an example of how university-community engagement initiatives can function as a macro-practice intervention framework for students, practitioners, and community leaders.

Nancy Victorin-Vangerud · Digital Commons - Hamline (Hamline University) · United States

This is a course description for a first-year seminar at Hamline University, United States. Drawing on the vision of Will Allen, founder of the Milwaukee urban agriculture organization Growing Power, the course has students explore collaborations across diverse communities, religions and cultures in the Twin Cities, participate in the fall harvest at neighborhood community gardens, and reflect on how food production intersects with social, economic and environmental issues.

Emmanuel Okello, Emmanuel Emmanuel, Amonya, Collins, Okwee Acai, James, Erume, K.S. Joseph, Gejihu De, Henri · International Journal of Livestock Production · Uganda

This study assessed the performance, factors affecting productivity, and challenges of intensive pig farming in peri-urban Kampala, Uganda, using data from 332 purposively selected sows and 521 grower pigs. Information on management practices, challenges, and prospects was gathered through farmer questionnaires, key informant interviews, and stakeholder focus group discussions. Most farms showed a good overall level of management, but breeding practices were uniformly erratic across all farms, with different breeds crossed indiscriminately, and both reproduction and performance parameters were suboptimal. Breed had a significant effect on growth performance (p < 0.001) and litter size (p < 0.005), while feeding had significant effects on litter size (p < 0.001), number weaned (p < 0.01), weight-to-age ratio (p < 0.05), and weaning-to-service interval (p < 0.05). The major constraints identified were high feed costs, disease, and competition for land with expanding residential estates, and performance indices varied greatly between farms, indicating substantial room for improvement; the study recommends improved housing, breeding practices, feeding, and biosecurity measures.

Julie A. Jacob · JAMA · Global

A JAMA Medical News and Perspectives piece introducing public health initiatives that aim to mitigate community violence by creating safe shared spaces where residents can take part in physical fitness activities and urban gardening.

Daniel Andrés Vega Castro, Ángela Patricia Salamanca Rivera · Luna Azul · Colombia (Bogotá)

A study measured lead content in common chard (Beta vulgaris L., acelga) grown in an urban garden within 500 meters of two major roads in Bogotá, Colombia (at coordinates 4°42'39.6"N, 74°5'46.6"W). Before planting, lead content in the cultivated soil and irrigation water was analyzed as a preliminary diagnosis of possible contamination sources. Cultivation was done by hand, with no fertilizer or pest-control products applied to avoid bias. At harvest, 10% of the total planted population was randomly sampled and analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry following AOAC official method 968.08, yielding 0 ppm lead. Based on this result, the authors conclude that urban agricultural production can be an option that supports food security, not only through macro- and micronutrient intake but also through food quality and safety, since no lead was detected in the plant tissue.

Christian M., Evans C., Cade J. · Public Health Research, Vol. 2, No. 4 (NIHR Journals Library) · United Kingdom

Two randomised controlled trials in London primary schools evaluating the RHS Campaign for School Gardening. They found gardening alone had very little impact on children's fruit and vegetable intake, suggesting it must be combined with nutrition education to change diet.

Khoury C.K., Bjorkman A.D., Dempewolf H., Ramirez-Villegas J., Guarino L., Struik P.C. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) · Global

Shows national diets grew about 36% more similar over five decades, increasingly reliant on a few major crops, with implications for food security, nutrition, and the value of conserving crop diversity.